Performance Auditing in the Libyan Public Sector

Libya is a developing Arab State with a small population and a large geographic area. After the Alfatah revolution in 1969, the Libyan economy changed. Most activities such as agriculture, industry, investment, and other associated services were developed. Accordingly, the number of users of financial information in Libya rose steadily and has continued to grow ever since due to economic growth and flourishing business. This situation has led to an increased need for more reliable information to enable the country's authorities to exercise full accountability concerning the efficient and effective use of the available scarce resources on the part of those entrusted with administering public programmes and activities. In a response to this need, PA was required to be conducted by auditors in 1989. Consequently, PA examinations are carried out by two separate institutions, namely the Institute of Financial Auditing (IFA) and the Institute of Investigation and Public Control (IIPC). Accordingly, a comprehensive description of the nature of PA as practised by the Libyan auditors, assessing the degree to which these practices have been effectively operated and suggesting improvements in these practices, was felt necessary. A mixed-methodological design was utilized in this study. Close-ended questionnaires and semistructured interviews are the data collection techniques. The questionnaires were sent to a sample of performance auditors and public sector managers. The interviews were also conducted with a sample of performance auditors and public sector managers. The findings of this study revealed that the Libyan experience in the field of PA shares, in various instances, a common base with what has been identified in the literature or reported in the practices of other state audit institutions. The research findings, furthermore, showed that PA in the Libyan public sector is "rarely effective" or "ineffective" due to many obstacles that the current system of PA is facing, such as "ambiguity of organizations' objectives", "lack of performance measures", "lack of a sound internal control system", and "shortage of qualified performance auditors and specialized staff from different disciplines to carry out PA investigations". In addition, the findings showed that the PA system in Libya can be improved through the adoption of certain procedures, of which the most important are improving performance auditors' skills and attention being paid to PA by the legislative and administrative officials at higher levels in Libya. Lastly, in the light of these findings recommendations were proposed to overcome the reported deficiencies and to improve PA practices in the Libyan public sector

Praziquantel as the gold standard of schistosomiasis control Drug delivery and Nanotechnological strategies

The poor rate of drug discovery for the control of Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including schistosomiasis has necessitated effective management of existing drugs by modulating their delivery. Nanotechnology-based colloidal drug carriers have been explored to improve the activity and safety profile of drugs for NTDs including parasitic diseases. In developing new drug delivery systems for schistosomiasis, research efforts have focused mainly on Praziquantel (PZQ) as the sole antischistosomal agent in current clinical practice. Carrier systems of the polymer, inorganic and lipid-based type have been investigated for the delivery of PZQ. However, promising results were obtained using lipid-based delivery systems including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers and nanoemulsions. Selection of these lipid carrier systems has been based on the lipophilicity of PZQ, controlled drug release, potential increase in its bioavailability by promoting lymphatic absorption to bypass the extensive first pass effect biodistribution to the host liver and enhancement of PZQ interaction with the worm tegument of a similar phospholipid nature.

Plackett–Burman randomization method for Bacterial Ghosts preparation form E. coli JM109

AbstractPlackett–Burman randomization method is a conventional tool for variables randomization aiming at optimization. Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) preparation has been recently established using methods other than the E lysis gene. The protocol has been based mainly on using critical concentrations from chemical compounds able to convert viable cells to BGs. The Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Growth Concentration (MGC) were the main guide for the BGs preparation. In this study, Escherichia coli JM109 DEC has been used to produce the BGs following the original protocol. The study contained a detail protocol for BGs preparation that could be used as a guide

LOGICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN FOR PHENOL DEGRADATION USING IMMOBILIZED ACINETOBACTER SP. CULTURE

Phenol degradation processes were conducted through a series of enzymatic reactions effects and is affect by different components of the microbial metabolic flux. Using different optimization strategies like mutagenesis could lead to a successful optimization but also lead to lost of some important microbial features or to release a new virulence or unexpected characters. Plackett-Burman closes much gab between optimization, safety, time, cost, Man/hr, the complexity of the metabolic flux etc. Using Plackett-Burman experimental design lead to map the points affect in the optimization process by well understanding their request from nutrient and the best environmental condition required. In this study nine variables include pH (X1), oC (X2), glucose (X3), yeast extract (X4), meat extract (X5), NH4NO3 (X6), K-salt (X7), Mg-salt (X8) and trace element (X9) are optimized during phenol degradation by Acinetobacter sp., using Plackett-Burman design method. Plackett-Burman included 16 experiments, each was used in two levels, [-1] low and high [+1]. According to Blackett-Burman design experiments the maximum degradation rate was 31.25 mg/l/h. Logical and statistical analysis of the data lead to select pH, Temperature and Meat extract as three factors affecting on phenol degradation rate. These three variables have been used in Box-Behnken experimental design for further optimization. Meat extract, which is not statistically recommended for optimization has been used while it can substitute trace element, which is statistically significant. Glucose, which is statistically significant, did not included while it has a negative effect and gave the best result at 0 g/l amount. Glucose has been completely omitted from the media.  pH, temperature and meat extract were used in fifteen experiments each was used in three levels, –1, 0, and +1 according to Box-Behnken design. Microsoft Excel 2002 solver tool was used to optimize the model created from Box-Behnken. The calculated degradation rate was 37.30 mg/l/hr at pH=7.12, Meat extract=1.6 g/l and Temperature=27.77oC. To prove the efficiency of using the Microsoft Excel 2000 solver the calculated variables are tested experimentally in vivo. The degradation rate was 38.45 mg/L/hr, which equal to 103.08% accuracy. The high accuracy level points out the efficiency of using Box-Behnken experimental design and the Excel solver to optimize its model

The implication of ROS production on triflumuron-induced oxidative stress and genotoxicity in human colon carcinoma (HCT-116) cells

The aim of this study is to evaluate the cytotoxic and the genotoxic effects of triflumuron (TFM) on human colon carcinoma cells (HCT-116). Indeed, TFM is used to protect vegetables, fruits, and domestic animals against a large spectrum of parasites causing animal and human disorders. However, studies revealing its toxicity and its mode of action in mammalian systems remain very limited. We monitored our work with the cytotoxicity assay starting with the cell viability test, the ROS generation, the malondialdehyde (MDA) production, the DNA fragmentation, and the measurement of some antioxidant enzymes activities such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, and the glutathione S-transferase. Also, we measured the mitochondrial transmembrane potential. We showed that TFM induced a dose-dependent cell death. This decrease in cell viability was accompanied by a significant reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential. We also have shown that TFM induced oxidative stress as revealed by the generation of reactive oxygen species, the increase of the MDA levels, and the activation of the antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, our results indicated that TFM induced DNA damage in HCT-116 cells as monitored by the comet assay. We demonstrate, for the first time, the cytotoxic and the genotoxic potentials of TFM on human cultured cells

Pneumomédiastin au cours d’une dermatomyosite, une entité rare: à propos d’un cas

la dermatomyosite est une connective caractérisée par une inflammation du muscle squelettique associée à des manifestations cutanées caractéristiques. Leurs étiologies, encore méconnues, associent facteurs environnementaux et génétiques. Parmi les complications pulmonaires décrites, les pneumopathies interstitielles qui sont des complications fréquentes. D'autres complications sont plus rarement rapportées comme le pneumomédiastin. Nous rapportons une observation de pneumomédiastin avec dissection aérique sous cutanée massive survenus chez une patiente atteinte de dermatomyosite. Nous discutons, à la vue des données de la littérature de la fréquence, des causes et des mécanismes physiopathologiques de cette pathologie.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Sponge-Like: A New Protocol for Preparing Bacterial Ghosts

Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) received an increasing interest in the recent years for their promising medicinal and pharmaceutical applications. In this study, for the first time we introduce a new protocol for BGs production. E. coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS (Promega) was used as a model to establish a general protocol for BGs preparation. The protocol is based on using active chemical compounds in concentrations less than the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC). Those chemical compounds are SDS, NaOH, and H2O2. Plackett-Burman experimental design was used to map the best conditions for BGs production. Normal and electronic microscopes were used to evaluate the BGs quality (BGQ). Spectrophotometer was used to evaluate the amount of the released protein and DNA. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to determine the existence of any residue of DNA after each BGs preparation. Viable cells, which existed after running this protocol, were subjected to lysis by inducing the lysozyme gene carried on pLysS plasmid. This protocol is able to produce BGs that can be used in different biotechnological applications

Efficacy, Safety and Outcomes of the Laparoscopic Management of Cesarean Scar Ectopic Pregnancy as a Single Therapeutic Approach: A Case Series.

peer reviewedA standardized consensus for the management of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is lacking. The study objective is to evaluate the efficacy, safety and outcomes of the laparoscopic management of CSP as a single therapeutic surgical approach without being preceded by vascular pretreatment or vasoconstrictors injection. This is a retrospective bi-centric study, a case series. Eight patients with a future desire to conceive underwent the laparoscopic treatment of unruptured CSPs. Surgery consisted of "en bloc" excision of the deficient uterine scar with the adherent tissue of conception, followed by immediate uterine repair. The data collected for each patient was age, gestity, parity, number of previous c-sections, pre-pregnancy isthmocele-related symptoms, gestational age, fetal cardiac activity, initial β-human chorionic gonadotropin levels, intra-operative blood loss, blood transfusion, operative time and the postoperative complications, evaluated according to Clavien-Dindo classification. The CSP was successfully removed in all patients by laparoscopy. The surgical outcomes were favorable. All patients with histories of isthmocele-related symptoms reported postoperative resolution of symptoms. The median residual myometrium thickness increased significantly from 1.2 mm pre-operatively to 8 mm 3 to 6 months after surgery. The laparoscopic management seems to be an appropriate treatment of CSP when performed by skilled laparoscopic surgeons. It can be safely proposed as a single surgical therapeutic approach. Larger series and further prospective studies are needed to confirm this observation and to affirm the long-term gynecological and obstetrical outcomes of this management