Prevalence of Obesity among Jordanian School-aged Adolescents in Greater Amman

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity among Jordanian school female adolescents in greater Amman.  A representative random sample of 501 female adolescents school children, 10 to 17 years of age was recruited from 3 schools from greater Amman. The anthropometric data for adolescents (10-17 years old) were entered and compared to the growth reference curves/charts developed in 2006/2007 by the World Health Organization (WHO) using WHO 2009 AnthroPlus software. After sorting and cleaning of the data, descriptive analysis was conducted to obtain prevalence of obesity, overweight, and thinness. Malnourished children were defined as those with overweight, obese, or thinness. The overall average prevalences of thinness, normal weight, overweight, and obesity were 7.2% , 46.8%, 36.2% and 9.9 %, respectively. Among the thinness category (WAZ <-2 SD)  , the highest percentage (16.7%)  is for 16-17 age group followed by 14-15 age group (6.7%) while it is 5.3% in 10-11 age group. An overall prevalence of malnutrition characterized by overweight and obesity together among all age groups is 46.1%.  As a conclusion, the study showed that more than half (53.3%) of Jordanian school adolescents in greater Amman are malnourished, with a prevalence of overweight, obesity and thinness at the same time, requiring different strategies to control either type. Further research about the dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors of Jordanian adolescents is recommended. Keywords: Prevalence, Obesity, School-aged children, Adolescents, Greater Amman, Jorda

Fermented Camel (Camelus dromedarius) and Bovine Milk Attenuate Azoxymethane-induced Colonic Aberrant Crypt Foci in Fischer 344 Rats

Abstract: Background and Objective: Camel milk is a folk remedy that includes valuable nutrients and bioactive zoochemicals. However, the chemopreventive potential of camel milk against colon carcinogenesis is poorly understood. This study was conducted to investigate the chemopreventive potential of camel (Camelus dromedarius) and bovine milk as well as the impact of fermenting these milks with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus against early colon carcinogenesis as measured by the reduction of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in azoxymethane (AOM)-treated Fischer 344 rats. Methodology: Each of 60 weanling male rats was assigned to one of 6 experimental diet groups: Fermented and unfermented camel milk with AOM, fermented and unfermented bovine milk with AOM and positive (PC, AOM only) and negative (NC, saline vehicle only) control groups. The animals were fed the corresponding diets for 3 weeks and then received two subcutaneous injections of AOM or vehicle for 2 consecutive weeks and they were then placed on the corresponding diets for 11 weeks. At termination, all rats were euthanized, colons were harvested and the ACF counts were determined for all tested groups. Immunohistochemical testing was then performed to examine cell proliferation and apoptosis in the camel milk groups. Results: Significant reductions (p<0.05) (48.4-62.1%) in the total ACF count were observed in the colons of the rats fed all milk diets compared with rats fed on PC. However, significant differences were not observed in the total ACF between the camel and bovine milk diets or between the fermented and unfermented milk diets. In addition, significant changes were not observed in the apoptotic index for the camel milk diet compared with the index values for PC and β-catenin was generally localized to the membrane in all examined specimens. Conclusion: By virtue of its bioactive components, camel milk exhibited a chemopreventive potential against early colon carcinogenesis, however, fermentation did not improve its chemopreventive potential

Improving the Mechanical Properties of Fiber Metal Laminate Composite Used in Aircraft Wing

The purpose of this study is to reduce weight and improve the mechanical properties of aircraft wing using Hybrid materials known as fiber metal laminates (FMLs). In this study, seven layers were used to produce the FMLs that consist of aluminum alloy2024-T3 reinforced by carbon and glass fibers bonded with blend of epoxy-resole. The Carbon Glass Reinforced Aluminum Laminates (CAGRALLs) was used as FMLs. The results showed that The CAGRALLs gave good mechanical properties because of increasing in tensile strength, elongation at fracture and impact toughness except flexural strength by comparing with other FMLs using commercial epoxy. The increasing in layers led to weaken adhesion force between layers of FMLs caused decreasing almost mechanical properties. The FMLs has good mechanical properties by using carbon and glass fibers by comparing with carbon and jute fibers. The CAGRALLs have higher numbers of cycles at failure under cyclic loadings than Aramid Reinforced Aluminum Laminates (ARALLs). The CAGRALLs have lower density by comparing with aluminum alloy 2024-T3 that used in manufacturing of aircraft wing

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

Protocol: the effects of flipped classrooms to improve learning outcomes in undergraduate health professional education: a systematic review

[Extract] The teaching and learning activities of any undergraduate curriculum will have a specific set of learning outcomes that should be successfully achieved by the students. The balance between the workload of a student and the available time to achieve the learning outcomes plays a major role in achieving these learning outcomes, as well as a good student satisfaction score and excellent final grades for that particular module (Whillier & Lystad, 2013). In a traditional educational experience, a teacher stands in front of the classroom, delivers a lecture to a group of students, who sit in rows, quietly listening to the lecture and taking notes. At the end of the lecture, students are given homework or an assignment to be completed outside of the classroom environment. This characterises the principle of “sage‐on‐the stage”, and is synonymous with the present day term of teacher‐centered learning. This is also referred to as the transmittal model (King, 1993), which assumes that the students are passive note‐takers, receivers of the content or accumulators of factoids (Morrison, 2014). Usually, the teacher does not have time to interact with the students individually during the class (Hamdan, McKnight, McKnight & Arfstorm, 2013), thus neglecting those students who do not understand the lecture. The traditional didactic way of teaching is primarily unidirectional and consists of limited interactions between the source of knowledge (teacher) and the passive recipients (students)

Internet-based search of randomised trials relevant to mental health originating in the Arab world

BACKGROUND: The internet is becoming a widely used source of accessing medical research through various on-line databases. This instant access to information is of benefit to busy clinicians and service users around the world. The population of the Arab World is comparable to that of the United States, yet it is widely believed to have a greatly contrasting output of randomised controlled trials related to mental health. This study was designed to investigate the existence of such research in the Arab World and also to investigate the availability of this research on-line. METHODS: Survey of findings from three internet-based potential sources of randomised trials originating from the Arab world and relevant to mental health care. RESULTS: A manual search of an Arabic online current contents service identified 3 studies, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO searches identified only 1 study, and a manual search of a specifically indexed, study-based mental health database, PsiTri, revealed 27 trials. CONCLUSION: There genuinely seem to be few trials from the Arab world and accessing these on-line was problematic. Replication of some studies that guide psychiatric/psychological practice in the Arab world would seem prudent

A comparative analysis of experimental and numerical investigations of composite tubes under axial and lateral loading

Quasi-static tests are performed in order to determine the crash behavior of composite tubes. The specimens are made from woven fiber carbon/epoxy. The crash experiments show that the tubes crushed in a progressive manner from one end to the other of the tubes while delamination was - taking place between the layers. In the simulation works described in this paper the ANSYS explicit finite element code is used to investigate the compressive properties and crushing response of circular carbon tube subjected to static axial and lateral loading and the results are compared with the experimental work. To better understand the details of the crash process, thin multi layer shell elements are used to model the walls of the circular tube. Finally, the design optimization technique is implemented to find an optimum composite configuration that has the maximum failure load and absorbs the most energy. The crash performance of a carbon composite shell is compared with an optimum carbon tube from the experimental work. 2010, INSInet Publication.Scopu

Feasibility and acceptability of text messaging to support antenatal healthcare in Iraqi pregnant women: a pilot study

Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of mobile health technology and its potential to improve antenatal care (ANC) services in Iraq. Methods: This was a controlled experimental study conducted at primary health care centers. One hundred pregnant women who attended those centres for ANC were exposed to weekly text messages varying in content, depending on the week of gestation, while 150 women were recruited for the unexposed group. The number of ANC visits in the intervention and control groups, was the main outcome measure. The Mann-Whitney test and the Poisson regression model were the two main statistical tests used. Results: More than 85% of recipients were in agreement with the following statements: “the client recommends this program for other pregnant women”, “personal rating for the message as a whole” and “obtained benefit from the messages”. There was a statistically significant increase in the median number of antenatal clinic visits from two to four per pregnancy, in addition to being relatively of low cost, and could be provided for a larger population with not much difference in the efforts. Conclusions: Text messaging is feasible, low cost and reasonably acceptable to Iraqi pregnant women, and encourages their ANC visits

Lightweight and durable PVDF-SSPF composites for photovoltaics backsheet applications: thermal, optical and technical properties

Photovoltaic module backsheets are characterized according to their thermal, optical, mechanical, and technical properties. This work introduces new fabricated backsheets for PV modules using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) reinforced with short sugar palm fiber (SSPF) composites. The preparation of composites undergoes multiple phases of fabrication. Thermal, optical, and technical investigations of their properties were conducted. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, in-situ scanning probe microscopy (SPM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermal mechanical analysis (TMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and prolonged technical testing were accomplished to expansively understand the complex behavior of composites under various conditions. The optical properties of PV backsheets are critical components in determining the reflectance, absorbance, and transmittance of light. The PVDF–SSPF composites exhibited exceptional compatibility and thermal stability, further revealing a homogenous composite structure with enhanced interfacial bonding between the short fiber and polymer matrix

Effectiveness of school-based nutrition interventions promoted in the League of Arab States: a systematic review.

Arab countries are doubly burdened with undernutrition as well as overweight and obesity. To provide guidance to those looking to address concerns of obesity and overweight among children in this region, the current review bridges an existing knowledge gap and systematically characterizes and evaluates the available scientific evidence pertaining to school-based nutrition interventions completed to date across the Arab world. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and relevant keywords, terms and phrases, a search of the literature across 14 databases for school-based nutrition interventions implemented in this region was conducted. Out of 1568 articles from 14 databases, 38 full-text articles meeting the inclusion criteria were retrieved. Further assessment for eligibility excluded 23 articles and included one article from hand-searching references, leaving 16 articles in the final analysis. Most articles (n = 7) with the implementation of 5 months or longer found strong positive and significant impacts on limiting sweets consumption, increased dietary knowledge, self-efficacy, breakfast and fruit and vegetable consumption, among others. We also found evidence (n = 5) that teachers trained by experts such as dietitians and pediatricians can effectively implement nutrition interventions that achieve the intended outcomes. Training teachers to implement theory-based nutrition and health promotion curricula serves as a potential solution to improving nutrition knowledge, health behaviors and dietary practices among children living in Arab countries. Appropriately designed and implemented nutrition interventions can positively impact nutrition knowledge, health and diet-related behaviors in children and adolescents in this region