The Extent of Practicing Crisis Management by Jordanian Secondary School Principals in the Light of the Contemporary Educational Challenges

The present study aimed to explore the extent of practicing crisis management by Jordanian secondary school principals in the light of the contemporary educational challenges. The study’s population consists from the principals and teachers who at Jordanian secondary schools. The sample consists from 1000 principals and teachers who work at Amman. To meet the study’s goals, a descriptive approach was adopted.  It was found that the extent of practicing crisis management by Jordanian secondary school principals is moderate in the light of the contemporary educational challenges. It was found that practicing crisis management by Jordanian secondary school principals in the light of the contemporary educational challenges is highly significant. Therefore, it’s necessary to identify the contemporary educational challenges and the crisis derived from such challenges. The researchers suggested several recommendations. For instance, they recommend activating the role of crisis management in the light of the contemporary educational challenges. Keywords: crisis management, Jordanian secondary school principals, contemporary educational challenges DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-16 Publication date:May 31st 202

Use of Phenols, Peroxidase and Polyphenoloxidase of Seed to Quantify Resistance of Cotton Genotypes to Damping-off Incited by Fusarium oxysporum

A greenhouse test was conducted in 2011 and 2012 growing seasons at Giza Agricultural Research Station to evaluate the reaction of six cotton genotypes to damping-off incited by Fusarium oxysporum. Damping-off incidence on the genotypes ranged from 70-88%. In general, the genotypes could be divided into highly susceptible, susceptible, and moderately susceptible. Data for damping-off incidence and level or activity of some biochemical components (phenols, peroxidase, and polyphenoloxidase) were entered into a computerized linear regression analysis. The analysis contrasted seven predictive models by using the biochemical components, singly or in combination, as biochemical predictors. It was evident that models nos. 2 and 6 were the best models for predicting incidence of damping-off. The superiority of these models was attributed to their high RІ values (0.748 and 0.902, respectively) and the significance of their F. values (P = 0.026 and P = 0.031, respectively). The results of the present study suggest that peroxidase alone or both peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase, which may or may not parts of damping-off resistance mechanisms, can be used as biochemical markers to predict resistance to damping-off incited by F. oxysporum

Antenatal dexamethasone effect on Doppler blood flow velocity in women at risk for preterm birth: prospective case series

Background: Maternal administration of corticosteroids is essential to improve fetal lung surfactant production and hasten the fetal lung maturity in women at risk for preterm birth.Objectives: The current study aims to evaluate the effects of dexamethasone on fetal and uteroplacental circulation in pregnancies at risk for preterm birth after 24 hours of its administration.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary University Hospital and included 52 pregnant women with singleton pregnancies. Doppler studies were performed on maternal uterine arteries, umbilical artery, fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA) and fetal descending aorta and just before dexamethasone administration and repeated 24 hours after completion of the course.Results: There was a statistically significant difference between all Doppler indices in the umbilical artery (PI= 1.09±0.4 and 1.05±0.39, RI= 0.66±0.14 and 0.63±0.14; p=0.001), fetal MCA (RI= 0.86±0.12 and 0.83±0.13, PI= 2.19±0.72 and 2.15±0.72; p=0.001) and aorta (RI= 0.9±0.55 and 0.87±0.55; p=0.001, PI= 1.91±0.44 and 1.89±0.44; p=0.040) in comparison before and 24 hours after maternal dexamethasone administration respectively. Also uterine artery PI was significantly different (0.9±0.27 and 0.87±0.26; p=0.001).Conclusion: Antenatal dexamethasone for women at risk of preterm birth improves the fetal and uteroplacental blood flow at 24 hours after its administration.Keywords: Doppler; preterm birth; corticosteroids; dexamethasone

HYPOLIPIDEMIC AND ANTI-FATTY LIVER EFFECTS EXERTED BY STANDARDIZED PUNICA GRANATUM L. PEEL EXTRACT IN HEPG2 CELL-LINE AND HIGH-FAT DIET-INDUCED MICE

Objective: Pomegranate, (Punica granatum L., Lythraceae) peel has concentrated amounts of lipid-lowering elements that demonstrated, in various hoary and recent studies, their effects against obesity and hyperlipidemia, which involves elevated rates of lipid and lipoprotein levels in blood and increases risks of cardiovascular diseases.We aim to study expression modulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism by the impact of standardized pomegranate peel extract (PPE) in a comprehensive research on human liver cells and experimental mice.Methods: Using reverse-transcription real-time PCR, an in vitro study harnessing HepG2 cell line was conducted to determine the hyperlipidemia-related gene expression profiles and cytotoxic effects upon treatment with PPE. In another complementary in vivo study, male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or an HFD supplemented with PPE for 14 d to define the expression of lipid metabolism related genes that control obesity. Fatty liver proportions were also estimated after treatment.Results: Higher mRNA expression of LDL receptor (LDL-R) and down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBF-2), (SRBEP-1c), Fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) upon PPE treatment in HepG2 cell line were significantly recorded. In vivo study indicated significant weight reduction of body and liver, besides amelioration of fatty liver state detected by histological analysis. Moreover, the reverse-transcription real-time PCR assay demonstrated suppression (FAS) expression and up regulation of hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) in mice isolated liver and white adipose tissues.Conclusion: Our study manages to affirm the hypolipidemic and anti-fatty liver influence of Punica granatum L. peel extract, reflected by molecular evaluation above and beyond other physiological assays.Keywords: Pomegranate, Peel extract, Hyperlipidemia, LDLR, SREBP, FAS, HMGCR, HS

Automatic quantification of vocal cord movement symmetry based on fibre-optic nasendoscopy video processing

Automatic Quantification of Vocal Cord Movement Symmetry based on Fibre-optic Nasendoscopy Video ProcessingIntroductionClinical subjective assessment of the symmetry of vocal cord movement may lead to variability in diagnosis, particularly in challenging cases. We aimed to enhance diagnostic practices by quantifying vocal cord motion, recorded in nasendoscopy videos, using bespoke image processing to measure vocal cord movement symmetry. Materials & Methods: With patient consent, routine clinical video data of vocal cord motion were recorded using flexible fibre-optic nasendoscopy connected to a 25 frame per second camera. In this study, 3 normal cases and 3 unilateral palsies were examined. A sequence of video frames pertaining to abduction movements were manually selected and input into the custom software for automatic processing. The algorithm executes a novel framework to quantify vocal cord motion, with steps involving glottal area segmentation, estimation of motion between successive frames of delineated vocal cord edges and measurement of movement symmetry. Results: In the normal cases, the horizontal velocity of motion of one vocal cord was at least 80% (±0.58%) of the other. The unilateral paralysed vocal cords were found to achieve only 18% (severe), 58% and 59% motion of the contralateral vocal cord. Conclusion: The results demonstrate a technique to objectively quantify vocal cord movement. Future work involves a comparative study of the results with subjective clinicians’ rating of vocal cord motion, on a discrete 5-point scale. This technique may potentially be used in the diagnosis of subtle vocal cord movement asymmetries and early reduction in vocal cord movement due to pathology, and to aid in the assessment of outcomes of post-surgical interventions

Automatic quantification of vocal cord paralysis - an application of fibre-optic endoscopy video processing

Full movement of the vocal cords is necessary for life sustaining functions. To enable correct diagnosis of reduced vocal cord motion and thereby potentially enhance treatment outcomes, it is proposed to objectively determine the degree of vocal cord paralysis in contrast to the current clinical practice of subjective evaluation. Our study shows that quantitative assessment can be achieved using optical flow based motion estimation of the opening and closing movements of the vocal cords. The novelty of the proposed method lies in the automatic processing of fibre-optic endoscopy videos to derive an objective measure for the degree of paralysis, without the need for high-end data acquisition systems such as high speed cameras or stroboscopy. Initial studies with three video samples yield promising results and encourage further investigation of vocal cord paralysis using this technique

Chemical Composition of the Essential oil of The Leaves of Pimenta diocia (L.) Merr. & Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) cultivated in Egypt and Evaluation of Their in-vitro Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Activities

The aim of the study is to identify and characterize the chemical composition of the essential oil of both leaves of Pimenta diocia (L.) Merr. and Pimenta racemosa (Mill.)  as well as to evaluate their in-vitro antioxidant and anti-diabetic potency. Both leaves essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS analysis. Different in-vitro antioxidant tests were employed, namely, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric thiocyanate (FTC), ferric reducing antioxidant power, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and β-carotene-linoleate bleaching assay. Also, the present work aims to evaluate the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition as well as glucose uptake by yeast cells of essential oils. Essential oil analysis of the leaves of Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) showed high amounts of eugenol (37.95%), β-Myrecene (21.01%), α-Pinene (17.82%), linalool (6.15%) and limonene (5.93%).  GC-MS data of leaves essential oil revealed the presence of  eugenol (30.17%), limonene (17.24),  α-Pinene (16.78%), linalool (9.71), 1,8 cineole (8.31%) and β-myrecene (5.21%) . Pimenta diocia (L.) Merr. and Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) leaves essential oil having antioxidant effect using various methods. In most of the oil samples and assays the antioxidant activity was higher than the one revealed by the positive control BHT. Both plants essential oil showed potent inhibition of α-Amylase at concentration 2.00 mg as it was inhibited by (75 and 63 %); with IC50 (0.95 and 1.13); respectively as well as inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme by (61.42 and 53.00%) with IC50 (3.17 and 4.25); respectively. Also the percentage of glucose uptake by Pimenta diocia (L.) Merr. and Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) leaves essential oil at 2.00 mg/ml in the presence of 25 mM glucose is (63.49% and 49.61%); respectively. Conclusion: the present study clearly identified the Egyptian chemotype of Pimenta diocia (L.) Merr. and Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) leaves essential oil, it also displayed safe and promising antidiabetic and antioxidant properties. Therefore the essential oil of both species can be utilized as a natural antioxidant and antidiabetic as well as health benefits

Endogenous IFNγ in chronic HCV genotype 4 patients treated with PEG-IFNα and ribavirin

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections remain an increasingly prevalent and emergent health problem worldwide, causing a wide spectrum of liver diseases. Combination therapy with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) of peginterferon alfa-2a and oral ribavirinis currently recognized as the standard treatment of chronic HCV infection. Several complex immunological mechanisms are involved during the course of HCV treatment using interferons. The role of endogenous interferon gamma (IFNγ) in Egyptian patients infected with chronic HCV and treated with PEG-IFN/ribavirin is uncertain. The goal of this study was to evaluate the association of IFNγ and chronic HCV infection among patients treated with combination therapy of PEG-IFN/ribavirin. Methodology: Samples from 20 patients infected with HCV genotype-4 (HCV-4) and 20 non-infected individuals as healthy controls were used in this retrospective study. IFNγ levels in peripheral blood monocytes were analyzed, along with liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the myxovirus resistance-A (MxA) gene. Results: The results showed that an increase of IFNγ and a decrease of ALT levels in chronic HCV-infected patients after 12 weeks of treatment with combination therapy. Conclusion: Enhanced IFNγ secretion and decreased liver enzyme ALT production are indicative of HCV clearance and improvement of liver function. In addition, the SNP of the MxA gene is an important host genetic factor that independently influenced the response to IFNα in patients with chronic HCV infection, especially in those with a low viral load