Reconciliation or Alienation: The Representation of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in the Jordanian Print Media: Al-Ghad Newspaper as a Case Study

The influx of Syrian refugees to Jordan is considered one of the most serious social events that the country has witnessed in decades. The unprecedented flow of refugees that received extensive coverage by the Jordanian print media played an instrumental role in shaping the representation of both the event and the actors involved in the crisis. This paper departs from the premise that news reports are “elements of social events” and as such employ language to change, maintain or inculcate the knowledge, beliefs and social relations shared by members of a society. To this end, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is adopted to investigate how Al-Ghad Newspaper uses language to represent and frame the Syrian refugee crisis and the Syrian refugees and considers whether this portrayal has contributed to the reconciliation or alienation of the Syrian refugees in the Jordanian society

The effect of lymphocytes secretome on skeletal muscle stem cells regeneration with ageing

Older people experience skeletal muscle wasting, in part due to impaired proliferative capacity of quiescent skeletal muscle satellite cells and. The work presented in this thesis set out to examine the hypothesis that microenvironment of skeletal muscles can be influenced by immune cell secretions, which affect satellite cell proliferation, and that beneficial immune-muscle interactions in young people are blunted in elderly. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of ageing human lymphocytes on skeletal muscle cell behaviour. For this purpose, lymphocytes were isolated from whole blood of young (aged 18-25 years) and older (aged 78-85 years) healthy volunteers and older healthy volunteers. All the participants were healthy, with no history of muscle disease and not on immunosuppressant or corticosteroids treatment that affect immune function. Lymphocytes were cultured with, or without, anti-CD3/CD28 activators for 4 days to induce release of cytokines, interleukins and growth factors into the media. The secreted proteins were used to prepare conditioned media that were used to culture C2C12 myoblasts. Secretomes were analysed and fifteen secreted Th1/Th2 cytokines and IGF-I were quantified by multiplex immunoassay. The gene expression and protein concentrations of amphiregulin were determined from T-lymphocytes lysates by real-time PCR and ELISA respectively. The levels of CD25 and FoxP3 expression in lymphocytes were examined using flow cytometry. The expression of muscle transcription factors, MyoD and Myogenin were determined by real- time PCR. Activated Mek1/Erk1/2 and Akt/mTOR were measured by multiplex immunoassay. Our results demonstrate for the first time that a decrease in the levels of amphiregulin and CD25 coincides with the increase in FoxP3 with ageing, which may be involved in suppression of lymphocytes. Seven cytokines were differentially secreted by the young- compared with the old-activated lymphocytes. The secretome from young-activated lymphocytes had 30% (P<0.005) higher IGF-I concentrations compared with old and control treatments. The conditioned media from young -activated lymphocytes increased the rate of proliferation of myoblasts by ~3-fold (P<0.005) and caused an approximate 4-fold (P<0.005) increase in migration compared with non-activated lymphocyte control media. These responses were characterised the extended proliferation of young -treated myoblasts was also associated with a decrease in MyoD and Myogenin and an increase in mediators of proliferation Mek1/Erk1/2and a decrease in the key proteins for differentiation, Akt/mTOR. In contrast, myoblasts treated with conditioned media from old-activated lymphocytes exhibited a high degree of differentiation

Deep learning-enabled technologies for bioimage analysis.

Deep learning (DL) is a subfield of machine learning (ML), which has recently demonstrated its potency to significantly improve the quantification and classification workflows in biomedical and clinical applications. Among the end applications profoundly benefitting from DL, cellular morphology quantification is one of the pioneers. Here, we first briefly explain fundamental concepts in DL and then we review some of the emerging DL-enabled applications in cell morphology quantification in the fields of embryology, point-of-care ovulation testing, as a predictive tool for fetal heart pregnancy, cancer diagnostics via classification of cancer histology images, autosomal polycystic kidney disease, and chronic kidney diseases

The effect of different bleaching protocols, used with and without sodium ascorbate, on bond strength between composite and enamel

This in vitro study aims to evaluate whether a solution of 10% sodium ascorbate (SA) may exert a beneficial effect on the bonding of composite to enamel after using different bleaching agents and protocols. Microtensile bond strength (μTBS) was evaluated on 72 freshly extracted human central incisors, divided into eight experimental groups and one control group (total n = 9): Group 1 serves as control (nonbleached). Group 2 was bleached with 5% carbamide peroxide. Group 3 was bleached with 5% carbamide peroxide and then treated with 10% SA. Group 4 was bleached with 10% carbamide peroxide. Group 5 was bleached with 10% carbamide peroxide, then treated with 10% SA. Group 6 was bleached with 16% carbamide peroxide. Group 7 was bleached with 16% carbamide peroxide, then treated with 10% SA. Group 8 was bleached with 6% hydrogen peroxide. Group 9 was bleached with 6% hydrogen peroxide, then treated with 10% SA. All groups were restored immediately after the different treatments using a resin composite. The μTBS values were measured using a universal testing machine and statistical analysis was performed by means of normality and variance analyses, SIDAK test for univariate test and multiple comparisons, and Student test to compare μTBS values of each group with the control. The mean μTBS values in groups 2, 4, 6, 8 were significantly lower than controls. For groups 3, 5, 7, 9, subjected to antioxidant (10% SA) application, all μTBS values increased significantly. However, only for Groups 3 and 5 there was no significant difference with the control. Applying 10% SA for 10 min may improve the bond strength composite/bleached enamel just when whitening is performed with 5% and 10% carbamide peroxide

A priori study of subgrid-scale features in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

At the crossroad between flow topology analysis and turbulence modeling, a priori studies are a reliable tool to understand the underlying physics of the subgrid-scale (SGS) motions in turbulent flows. In this paper, properties of the SGS features in the framework of a large-eddy simulation are studied for a turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC). To do so, data from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent air-filled RBC in a rectangular cavity of aspect ratio unity and p spanwise open-ended distance are used at two Rayleigh numbers Ra € (108, 1010) [Dabbagh et al.,Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Regenerative function of immune system: Modulation of muscle stem cells

Ageing is characterised by progressive deterioration of physiological systems and the loss of skeletal muscle mass is one of the most recognisable, leading to muscle weakness and mobility impairments. This review highlights interactions between the immune system and skeletal muscle stem cells (widely termed satellite cells or myoblasts) to influence satellite cell behaviour during muscle regeneration after injury, and outlines deficits associated with ageing. Resident neutrophils and macrophages in skeletal muscle become activated when muscle fibres are damaged via stimuli (e.g. contusions, strains, avulsions, hyperextensions, ruptures) and release high concentrations of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors into the microenvironment. These localised responses serve to attract additional immune cells which can reach in excess of 1 × 105 immune cell/mm3 of skeletal muscle in order to orchestrate the repair process. T-cells have a delayed response, reaching peak activation roughly 4 days after the initial damage. The cytokines and growth factors released by activated T-cells play a key role in muscle satellite cell proliferation and migration, although the precise mechanisms of these interactions remain unclear. T-cells in older people display limited ability to activate satellite cell proliferation and migration which is likely to contribute to insufficient muscle repair and, consequently, muscle wasting and weakness. If the factors released by T-cells to activate satellite cells can be identified, it may be possible to develop therapeutic agents to enhance muscle regeneration and reduce the impact of muscle wasting during ageing and disease

The lymphocyte secretome from young adults enhances skeletal muscle proliferation and migration, but effects are attenuated in the secretome of older adults.

Older people experience skeletal muscle wasting, in part due to impaired proliferative capacity of quiescent skeletal muscle satellite cells which can be reversed by exposure to young blood. To investigate the role of immune cells in muscle regeneration, we isolated lymphocytes from whole blood of young and older healthy volunteers and cultured them with, or without, anti-CD3/CD28 activators to induce release of cytokines, interleukins, and growth factors into the media. The secreted proteins were collected to prepare a conditioned media, which was subsequently used to culture C2C12 myoblasts. The conditioned media from the activated young lymphocytes increased the rate of proliferation of myoblasts by around threefold (P < 0.005) and caused an approximate fourfold (P < 0.005) increase in migration compared with nonactivated lymphocyte control media. These responses were characterized by minimal myotube formation (2%), low fusion index (5%), low myosin heavy chain content, and substantial migration. In contrast, myoblasts treated with conditioned media from activated old lymphocytes exhibited a high degree of differentiation, and multi-nucleated myotube formation that was comparable to control conditions, thus showing no effect on proliferation or migration of myoblasts. These results indicate that secreted proteins from lymphocytes of young people enhance the muscle cell proliferation and migration, whereas secreted proteins from lymphocytes of older people may contribute to the attenuated skeletal muscle satellite cell proliferation and migration

Machine learning-enabled multiplexed microfluidic sensors

High-throughput, cost-effective, and portable devices can enhance the performance of point-of-care tests. Such devices are able to acquire images from samples at a high rate in combination with microfluidic chips in point-of-care applications. However, interpreting and analyzing the large amount of acquired data is not only a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, but also prone to the bias of the user and low accuracy. Integrating machine learning (ML) with the image acquisition capability of smartphones as well as increasing computing power could address the need for high-throughput, accurate, and automatized detection, data processing, and quantification of results. Here, ML-supported diagnostic technologies are presented. These technologies include quantification of colorimetric tests, classification of biological samples (cells and sperms), soft sensors, assay type detection, and recognition of the fluid properties. Challenges regarding the implementation of ML methods, including the required number of data points, image acquisition prerequisites, and execution of data-limited experiments are also discussed

Recent technological developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cerebral edema

Latest technological advancements in neurocritical care have translated to improved clinical outcomes and have paved the way for the effective diagnosis and treatment of cerebral edema. Effective management of cerebral edema has the potential to provide a personalized treatment by obtaining the complete pathophysiological information of the patient. The aims of this review are to inform the reader about the research and development in this field in the past decade as well as the materialization of scientific literature through patents. There is a growing interest in multimodal monitoring of the diseased brain as it provides a necessary means to implement effective intervention strategies. Although there is a gradual shift toward the adoption of noninvasive devices for research purposes, their clinical applications are hindered by their inaccuracies. However, the inherent risk of complication and high costs of implementation challenge the status quo. The role of neuroprotectants is explored and the combination of neurodiagnostic and neuroprotective approaches is proposed. Finally, the impacts of the current state of global affairs are discussed and it is predicted that the rising number of traumatic brain injury patents will inevitably translate to improvements in technologies to effectively address cerebral edema