Emirati women’s knowledge about the menopause and menopausal hormone therapy

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of Emirati women aged 30–64 about menopause, menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), and their associated health risks, and additionally, to determine the relationships between Emirati women’s knowledge about menopause and their sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted of 497 Emirati women visiting five primary healthcare centers in Dubai. Data were collected using a questionnaire composed of sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics, menopause knowledge scale (MKS), and menopause symptoms knowledge and MHT practice. The mean menopause symptoms knowledge percentage was 41%, with a standard deviation of 21%. There were significant differences in the mean knowledge percentage among categories of education level (p \u3c 0.001) and employment (p = 0.003). No significant differences in the knowledge percentages were found among categories of menopausal status. “Pregnancy cannot occur after menopause” was the statement with the highest knowledge percentage (83.3%), while the lowest knowledge percentages were “risk of cardiovascular diseases increases with menopause” (23.1%), “MHT increases risk of breast cancer” (22.1%), and “MHT decreases risk of colon cancer” (13.9%). The knowledge of Emirati women about menopause, MHT, and related heart diseases was very low; therefore, an education campaign about menopause and MHT risks is needed to improve their knowledge for better coping with the symptoms

A Prospective Open Label Trial of Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Etanercept in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Study from Iraq

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of etanercept (ETN) in Iraqi patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Patients and Methods: This open labeled single group observational study included 42 Iraqi patients who fulfilled International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria of JIA. All the patients were given ETN 0.8 mg/kg (max: 50 mg) subcutaneous injection once weekly. Baseline data were collected during the first visit and patients were followed during the study at regular intervals: one month, three months, and six months. Outcome measures included juvenile arthritis disease activity score3-27 joints (JADAS3-27), functional class, and drug adverse effects were measured and recorded at each follow up time.Results: The mean age of patients was (11.91±3.78 years). Female patients were 22 (52.4%). The mean JADAS3-27 at base line was 20.29 ± 10.4 and reduced significantly after six months to reach 8.79 ± 6.6 (P<0.001). The overall number of patients who had advanced functional class (III and IV classes) at baseline changed significantly to lower classes after six months of follow up (P=0.001). Adverse events were leukopenia in two patients (4.8%), elevated liver enzymes in one patient (2.4%) and mild transient local skin rash at site of injection in five patients (11.9%).Conclusion: Etanercept drug was effective and relatively safe in treatment of Iraqi patients with JIA patients. Key words: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, JADAS 3-27, Functional class, Etanercep

Efficacy and Safety of Etanercept in Severely Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: 6-month, Open Label, Prospective, Observational Study from Iraq

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of etanercept in severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a sample of Iraqi patients. Patients and methods: An open labeled single group prospective observational study was conducted over 15 months on 190 Iraqi patients with RA diagnosed according to 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria. All the included patients were given etanercept at a dose of 50 mg by subcutaneous injection on weekly bases. Disease activity score at 28 joints (DAS28) and functional class of RA were measured at baseline and after 6months. Results: There was significant improvement in disease activity (DAS28) (p<0.001) with percent of change (-29.26%) and functional disability (P=0.001) with etanercept use over a period of 6 months. Elevated liver transaminase were 3.68%, leucopenia 3.15%, headache 2.11%, itching 2.11%,  serious chest infection 1.57%, leg abscess 0.52%,  injection site reactions 1.05%, breast cancer  0.52, and  drug induced psoriasis 0.52%. Conclusion: Etanercept was effective and relatively safe in treatment of RA patients among Iraqi patients. Keywords: Etanercept, Rheumatoid arthritis, Diseases activity score 28 (DAS28)

Effects of selenium and vitamin E on performance, physiological response, and selenium balance in heat-stressed sheep

Forty-two 7-mo-old Australian Merino wethers were used in a 50-d trial to investigate the effects of Se and vitamin E on the performance and physiological responses of heat-stressed sheep. Sheep were exposed to thermoneutral conditions (maximum = 24°C and minimum = 20°C) for 28 d followed by heat (maximum = 38°C and minimum = 28°C) for 22 d. Hot conditions were imposed between 0700 and 1800 h. Sheep were randomly allocated to diets containing 0.8 mg/kg Se (Sel-Plex), 150 mg/kg vitamin E, or 0.8 mg/kg Se and 150 mg/kg vitamin E for either the duration of the study (50 d) or from d 1 of the hot period until the end of the study. A control group that received no supplemental Se and vitamin E for the duration of the study was included. Feed intake was measured daily and sheep were weighed weekly. Blood samples were collected from all sheep before feeding on d 1, 21, and 49 for measurement of biochemical and enzymatic variables. The concentration of Se was determined in offered and refused feed, feces, urine, water, plasma, liver, and kidneys. Exposure to heat reduced (P < 0.05) DMI by 11.9%, ADG by 198 g, serum concentration of urea nitrogen and Se by 17.8%, and plasma total antioxidant status by 26.4%. During hot conditions, sheep receiving Se and vitamin E supplements for 50 d had reduced (P < 0.05) BW loss and elevated G:F compared to control sheep. Serum Se concentration and the plasma total antioxidant status were greatest in sheep receiving Se and vitamin E supplements for 50 d (P < 0.05). These results indicate that dietary supplementation with Se and vitamin E reduces the adverse effects of a high heat load. Additional studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these effects

Controlling the Growth of Local Isolates of Listeria Monocytogenes by Using Some Chemicals Preservatives

This study include using of some chemical preservative  against local isolates of Listeria monocytogenes , the effects of different concentrations of some generally regarded as save (GRAS) preservatives were studied on growth and survival of L. monocytogenes. These preservatives included salts of organic acid   (sodium acetate and sodium benzoate) which inhibit growth of the bacterium at (25%) w/v concentration,  also the effects  of different concentrations of  inorganic salt food additives sodium chloride were studied, which inhibit   the growth of  L. monocytogenes  at (15%) w/v concentration . On the other hand the growth and survival of L. monocytogenes at different concentrations of two generally recognized as safe acids (lactic acid and acetic acid ) was determined , the growth of  bacterium was completely inhibited at (55mM) concentration of acetic acid  and at  ( 65mM ) of lactic acid .  Controlling of L. monocytogenes by tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) by dipping of artificially contaminated chicken meat in (10%) of TSP for (10) min.,  significantly reduced the population of the pathogen on the surface of meat to standard safe limit.So the study aimed to determining the effect of some chemical preservatives (acetic acid, lactic acid, sodium benzoate , sodium acetate and sodium chloride) on growth   of local isolats of   L. monocytogenes which isolated from different food sources in Erbil  and Koya city

Hybrid cryptography and steganography method to embed encrypted text message within image

The businesses in various fields use the online communication application to gather their data and information with local and global sources. The gathered data may sensitive such as the financial and businesses development information. The hackers or online thief try to stole the valuable data i.e. credit card numbers. The organizations looking for secure online channels in order to transfer their data efficiently and avoid the data thieving. One of the most applicable methods that developed to secure the online transferred data is the cryptography which transfers the original data or information to encrypted formulation. Cryptography still has many drawbacks such as stole and decrypts the original texts using automatic decryption counter. The main aim of this research is to improve the cryptography securing level using supportive method which is Steganography. The Steganography is the processes of hide the data or information in media files such as video, images and audio files. There are four stages represent the methodology of this paper; (1) encrypt the original texts using RSA algorithm, (2) hide the encrypted texts in Image files, (3) extract the encrypted texts from Image files, and (4) decrypt the original texts using decryption key of RSA algorithm. It is expected to improve the security level of the online transferred textual data. The performance of the final results will be evaluated through compare the Image files quality before and after hide the data in these files. The quality of the original and stego Image files need to be same or near in order to maximize the difficulty of detect that there data hide in these files

Relative clauses in Iraqi Arabic and the status of resumptive pronouns

Not much has been said about the grammar of Iraqi Arabic. This research is an attempt to shed light on the nature of IA relative clauses. The research focuses on the behavior of the resumptive strategy as opposed to the gap strategy. We consider islandhood, Weak and Strong CrossOver, reconstruction and scope binding, in order to further understand the behavior of resumption. The final conclusion reached is that in Iraqi Arabic the resumptive strategy is actually related to the gap strategy in several respects; and in those where it differs we propose that gaps (traces) are replaced by trace+pronoun complexLa gramàtica de l'àrab iraquià no ha estat gaire estudiada. En aquesta investigació s'aborda la naturalesa de les clàusules de relatiu de l'àrab iraquià. Ens centrem en l'estratègia resumptiva que s'hi utilitza, per oposició a l'estratègia del moviment. Considerem el comportament de les clàusules de relatiu respecte les illes, el creuament feble i el creuament fort, la reconstrucció i l'abast del lligam. La conclusió final és que l'estratègia resumptiva en àrab iraquià es relaciona amb l'opció de moviment en més d'un aspecte; en aquells en què difereix, proposem que les traces són substituïdes per un complex traça+prono

Effect of Concentrate Feeding on Milk Yield and Body-Weight Change of Awassi Ewes and the Growth of their Lambs

The response of Awassi ewes to graded amounts of supplementary concentrate diet was examined for the first 12 weeks of lactation. The growth rate of lambs and their health status were also investigated. Seventy-five ewes were divided into three equal groups and given a basal roughage diet of shredded wheat straw at a rate of 750 g dry matter (DM) per ewe per day supplemented with a concentrate diet at three months, 950 g (low), 1150 g (medium) and 1350 g (high) of DM per ewe per day starting at the beginning of lactation. Ewes were adapted to the diet by feeding daily at a rate of 200g per ewe during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. The concentrate was estimated to contain 11.8 MJ of metabolizable energy and 182 g of crude protein per kg DM. Ewes and their offspring were housed in a partly enclosed yard. Lambs remained with their dams continuously except for the days of milk yield measurements, when they were separated from the dam for 11 or 12 h. The ewes examined for subclinical mastitis and the incidence of scouring in lambs was recorded. Ewes given the high level of concentrate produced more (

Comparative Study of the Defect Point Physics and Luminescence of the Kesterites Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se2: Preprint

In this contribution, we present a comparative study of the luminescence of the kesterites Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) and their related chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe). Luminescence spectroscopy suggests that the electronic properties of Zn-rich, Cu-poor kesterites (both CZTS and CZTSe) and Cu-poor CIGSe are dictated by fluctuations of the electrostatic and chemical potentials. The large redshift in the luminescence of grain boundaries in CIGSe, associated with the formation of a neutral barrier is clearly observed in CZTSe, and, to some extent, in CZTS. Kesterites can therefore replicate the fundamental electronic properties of CIGSe

Comparison of in-hospital and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of trauma patients in Qatar

Background Cardiac arrests in admitted hospital patients with trauma have not been described in the literature. We defined "in-hospital cardiac arrest of a trauma" (IHCAT) patient as "cessation of circulatory activity in a trauma patient confirmed by the absence of signs of circulation or abnormal cardiac arrest rhythm inside a hospital setting, which was not cardiac re-arrest." This study aimed to compare epidemiology, clinical presentation, and outcomes between in- and out-of-hospital arrest resuscitations in trauma patients in Qatar. It was conducted as a retrospective cohort study including IHCAT and out-of-hospital trauma cardiac arrest (OHTCA) patients from January 2010 to December 2015 utilizing data from the national trauma registry, the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry, and the national ambulance service database. Results There were 716 traumatic cardiac arrest patients in Qatar from 2010 to 2015. A total of 410 OHTCA and 199 IHCAT patients were included for analysis. The mean annual crude incidence of IHCAT was 2.0 per 100,000 population compared to 4.0 per 100,000 population for OHTCA. The univariate comparative analysis between IHCAT and OHTCA patients showed a significant difference between ethnicities (p=0.04). With the exception of head injury, IHCAT had a significantly higher proportion of localization of injuries to anatomical regions compared to OHTCA; spinal injury (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.5-8.3, pPeer reviewe