Relationship of Children psychology and the use of public parks; case study of Jbaiha Amman Jordan

The places which are considered child friendly exceed the reserved places for children such as parks and children’s corners. The children need to be given the approval to gain entry to their city with its various spaces, in addition to presenting the children with spaces that they can own and use freely. Achieving this is consequential, for it can play a major role in benefitting the child in all aspects, it can also give the child the opportunity to have the knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a mature and a respected part of the society. This article aims to highlight these aspects. It is imperative to allow the children in Amman city to spend time outside in the open air instead of spending time at home. The paper at hand will go through different approaches to get to the optimum child friendly environment by following strategies that ensure the establishment of cities that can be considered as child friendly, in addition to highlighting the importance of such approaches on the long run both on the society and on the children. Keywords: child friendly city, Children psychology

The impact of population migrations in contemporary Amman city architecture

This research addresses the evolution stages of the city of Amman through the influence of the diverse population migrations in the city. The diverse styles were highlighted which accompanied the arrival of these immigrants from different places through the study of design trends and facades forms and architectural elements in terms of architectural patterns, architectural and interior distributions or construction techniques characterized by each stage. Amman had gone through periods of stability and turbulence throughout its long history, as Amman has embraced, the city of valleys and mountains, and springs of water, residential communities since the stone ages, but it has witnessed discontinuity spanned nearly four centuries. Hence, modern Amman has been formed by the advent of Circassians, and as a result of its falling under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and with the establishment of the Hejaz Railway, which made Amman a station to attract immigrants from neighboring areas, all this gradually led to the formation of a modern image of Amman different from that prevailing before the end of the nineteenth century. Amman received many cultures and population assets, each one in turn led to leaving a trace in Amman architecture of its residential and public buildings alike, leading to the formation of a diverse Ammani's architectural identity. The study of it will determine whether Amman architecture is the result of the experiences and local cultures or the external factors have affected significantly in the formation of architectural fabric and the typical architecture. Keywords: history of Amman architecture, traditional architecture, contemporary architecture, the city of Amman

Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Low Income Residential Real Estate Investment Returns in Nigeria

This paper examined the effects of Naira/Dollar exchange rate volatility on low income residential real estate investment returns in Nigeria using EGARCH model. Time series data for an 11year period between 2000 and 2010 was used in this study. The findings reveal that exchange rate volatility has a significant positive effect on low income residential real estate investment returns in Nigeria within the study period. Magnitude of volatility and volatility persistence measured.....

Diagnosis and Surveillance of Aortic Root Dilation

Aortic root dilation (AoD) imparts increased risk of aortic complications such as dissection, rupture, and valvular regurgitation. Multiple etiologies of AoD exist, such as Marfan syndrome, bicuspid aortic valve, Ehler-Danlos syndrome, infections, and idiopathic conditions. Due to the variety of clinical conditions that can result in AoD, and the risks associated with worsening AoD, a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of AoD, noninvasive imaging modalities, and pharmacologic therapies is critical. This chapter will review the various etiologies of AoD, pathophysiological basis of each disease entity, overview of the diagnosis of AoD, noninvasive imaging modalities employed for detection and surveillance, pharmacological therapies used in the prevention and management, and the factors that guide intervention such as surgical repair

أثر بيئة تعلم الكترونية تفاعلية في تنمية مهارات اللغة االنجليزية لدى طفل الروضةأثر بيئة تعلم الكترونية تفاعلية في تنمية مهارات اللغة االنجليزية لدى طفل الروضة

هدف المقال التعرف على تأثير بيئة التعلم اإللكترونية التفاعلية على تنمية مهارات اللغة اإلنجليزية لدى رياض األطفال. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تم استخدام المنهج شبه التجريبي. اختارت الباحثة عمًدا عينة الدراسة من طالب رياض األطفال في روضة أطفال أكاديمية أرض األطفال بالعاصمة عمان. قسمتهم الباحثة إلى مجموعتين دراسيتين بشكل عشوائي. بحيث تكون المجموعة األولى هي المجموعة التجريبية األولى )15 طالًبا( ، درست باستخدام الفيديو االفتراضي باستخدام نظارات )VR )، بينما درست المجموعة التجريبية الثانية )15 طالًبا( باستخدام الفيديو التفاعلي باستخدام لوحة ذكية تحقيق أهداف الدراسة. أظهرت نتائج الدراسة وجود اختالف في األداء الالحق بين المجموعتين في مهارات المحادثة، وكان االختالف لصالح طالب المجموعة التجريبية )االفتراضية( ، حيث كانت وسائل أدائهم أعلى. مقارنة بأداء طالب المجموعة التجريبية )تفاعلي(. الفروق الواضحة في األداء الالحق على بطاقة مالحظة مهارة االستماع حيث يالحظ أن متوسط قيمة أداء طالب المجموعة التجريبية )طريقة التدريس االفتراضية( أعلى من تلك الخاصة بطالب المجموعة التجريبية )تفاعلية(. طريقة التعليم(. وكان هناك اختالف في األداء الالحق بين المجموعتين في مهارات االستماع ، وكان االختالف لصالح طالب المجموعة التجريبية )االفتراضية( ، حيث كانت وسائل أدائهم أعلى مقارنة بأداء المجموعة التجريبية )االفتراضية(. طالب المجموعة التجريبية )التفاعلية(. أوصت الدراسة بعدة توصيات ، مثل زيادة االهتمام باستخدام أحدث التقنيات التكنولوجية في التعليم االفتراضي لألطفال ، مثل األجهزة اللوحية ونظارات الواقع االفتراضي ، لخلق بيئة تعليمية جذابة

Telomerase inhibition, Telomere attrition and proliferation arrest of cancer cells induced by Phosphorothioate ASO-NLS conjugates targeting hTERC and siRNAs targeting hTERT

Telomerase activity has been regarded as a critical step in cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis and because of this, regulation of telomerase represents an attractive target for anti-tumor specific therapeutics. Recently, one avenue of cancer research focuses on antisense strategy to target the oncogenes or cancer driver genes, in a sequence specific fashion to down-regulate the expression of the target gene. The protein catalytic subunit, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and the template RNA component (hTERC) are essential for telomerase function, thus theoretically, inhibition of telomerase activity can be achieved by interfering with either the gene expression of hTERT or the hTERC of the telomerase enzymatic complex. The present study showed that phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide (sASO)-nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide conjugates targeting hTERC could inhibit telomerase activity very efficiently at 5 μM concentration but less efficiently at 1 μM concentration. On the other hand, siRNA targeting hTERT mRNA could strongly suppress hTERT expression at 200 nM concentration. It was also revealed that siRNA targeting hTERT could induce telomere attrition and then irreversible arrest of proliferation of cancer cells

Neratinib plus trastuzumab is superior to pertuzumab plus trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer xenograft models

Lapatinib (L) plus trastuzumab (T), with endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)+ tumors, but without chemotherapy, yielded meaningful response in HER2+ breast cancer (BC) neoadjuvant trials. The irreversible/pan-HER inhibitor neratinib (N) has proven more potent than L. However, the efficacy of N+T in comparison to pertuzumab (P) + T or L + T (without chemotherapy) remains less studied. To address this, mice bearing HER2+ BT474-AZ (ER+) cell and BCM-3963 patient-derived BC xenografts were randomized to vehicle, N, T, P, N+T, or P+T, with simultaneous estrogen deprivation for BT474-AZ. Time to tumor regression/progression and incidence/time to complete response (CR) were determined. Changes in key HER pathway and proliferative markers were assessed by immunohistochemistry and western blot of short-term-treated tumors. In the BT474-AZ model, while all N, P, T, N + T, and P + T treated tumors regressed, N + T-treated tumors regressed faster than P, T, and P + T. Further, N + T was superior to N and T alone in accelerating CR. In the BCM-3963 model, which was refractory to T, P, and P + T, while N and N + T yielded 100% CR, N + T accelerated the CR compared to N. Ki67, phosphorylated (p) AKT, pS6, and pERK levels were largely inhibited by N and N + T, but not by T, P, or P + T. Phosphorylated HER receptor levels were also markedly inhibited by N and N + T, but not by P + T or L + T. Our findings establish the efficacy of combining N with T and support clinical testing to investigate the efficacy of N + T with or without chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting for HER2+ BC

The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical (In)Activity Behavior in 10 Arab Countries.

Insufficient physical activity is considered a strong risk factor associated with non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on physical (in)activity behavior in 10 Arab countries before and during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study using a validated online survey was launched originally in 38 different countries. The Eastern Mediterranean regional data related to the 10 Arabic countries that participated in the survey were selected for analysis in this study. A total of 12,433 participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of the participants was 30.3 (SD, 11.7) years. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between physical activity levels and the participants\u27 sociodemographic characteristics, watching TV, screen time, and computer usage. Physical activity levels decreased significantly during the lockdown. Participants\u27 country of origin, gender, and education were associated with physical activity before and during the lockdown (p \u3c 0.050). Older age, watching TV, and using computers had a negative effect on physical activity before and during the lockdown (p \u3c 0.050). Strategies to improve physical activity and minimize sedentary behavior should be implemented, as well as to reduce unhealthy levels of inactive time, especially during times of crisis. Further research on the influence of a lack of physical activity on overall health status, as well as on the COVID-19 disease effect is recommended

HER2-Mediated Internalization of Cytotoxic Agents in ERBB2 Amplified or Mutant Lung Cancers

Amplification and oncogenic mutations of ERBB2, the gene encoding the HER2 receptor tyrosine kinase, promote receptor hyperactivation and tumor growth. Here we demonstrate that HER2 ubiquitination and internalization, rather than its overexpression, are key mechanisms underlying endocytosis and consequent efficacy of the anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in lung cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. These data translated into a 51% response rate in a clinical trial of T-DM1 in 49 patients with ERBB2/HER2-amplified or mutant lung cancers. We show that co-treatment with irreversible pan-HER inhibitors enhances receptor ubiquitination and consequent ADC internalization and efficacy. We also demonstrate that ADC switching to T-DXd, which harbors a different cytotoxic payload, achieves durable responses in a patient with lung cancer and corresponding xenograft model developing resistance to T-DM1. Our findings may help guide future clinical trials and expand the field of ADC as cancer therapy

Targeting surface nucleolin with a multivalent pseudopeptide delays development of spontaneous melanoma in RET transgenic mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The importance of cell-surface nucleolin in cancer biology was recently highlighted by studies showing that ligands of nucleolin play critical role in tumorigenesis and angiogenesis. By using a specific antagonist that binds the C-terminal tail of nucleolin, the HB-19 pseudopeptide, we recently reported that HB-19 treatment markedly suppressed the progression of established human breast tumor cell xenografts in the athymic nude mice without apparent toxicity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The <it>in vivo </it>antitumoral action of HB-19 treatment was assessed on the spontaneous development of melanoma in the RET transgenic mouse model. Ten days old RET mice were treated with HB-19 in a prophylactic setting that extended 300 days. In parallel, the molecular basis for the action of HB-19 was investigated on a melanoma cell line (called TIII) derived from a cutaneous nodule of a RET mouse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HB-19 treatment of RET mice caused a significant delay in the onset of cutaneous tumors, several-months delay in the incidence of large tumors, a lower frequency of cutaneous nodules, and a reduction of visceral metastatic nodules while displaying no toxicity to normal tissue. Moreover, microvessel density was significantly reduced in tumors recovered from HB-19 treated mice compared to corresponding controls. Studies on the melanoma-derived tumor cells demonstrated that HB-19 treatment of TIII cells could restore contact inhibition, impair anchorage-independent growth, and reduce their tumorigenic potential in mice. Moreover, HB-19 treatment caused selective down regulation of transcripts coding matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9, and tumor necrosis factor-α in the TIII cells and in melanoma tumors of RET mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although HB-19 treatment failed to prevent the development of spontaneous melanoma in the RET mice, it delayed for several months the onset and frequency of cutaneous tumors, and exerted a significant inhibitory effect on visceral metastasis. Consequently, HB-19 could provide a novel therapeutic agent by itself or as an adjuvant therapy in association with current therapeutic interventions on a virulent cancer like melanoma.</p