Developing Global Talent for the World of Work through staff-student-industry collaboration and co-creation on a global scale

This case study reports on the organisation and impact of the Global Talent for the World of Work forum (aka the WoW forum) 2019, as captured through a comprehensive framework of key performance statistics, reflections and qualitative feedback from staff, students, industry partners and other participants in the event. The WoW forum was the main deliverable from a British Council funded project for enhancing Higher Education (HE) Partnership with Vietnamese universities. The forum built on the experience of BU in running 9 Global Festivals of Learning (GFOL) over the past 4 years, partnering with HE partners in India, China ASEAN and Europe. Students play a critical role in these events, with their roles and the activities for the WoW event designed to accommodate latest seminal work on the future of jobs (WEF, 2018) and the global graduate skills gap (ISE,2019). The settings of the WoW forum offered rich foundation using a critical participatory action research as an learning platform for participants to share their knowledge, experiences and reflections on innovative HE-industry practices. It concludes that multi-dimensional events such as GFOLs and the WoW forum demonstrate the value of ‘comprehensive internationalisation’

THEEFFECT OF DIPEPTIDYL PEPTIDASE-4 INHIBITORS ON CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Objective: The aim of this study was is to investigate the proposed beneficial cardiovascular effects of a novel class of antidiabetic drugs named; dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors. In this study, we compared the effect of using add-on therapy of vildagliptin (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor; DPP-4i) and gliclazide (sulphonylurea; SU) to that when using gliclazide monotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) on different cardiovascular outcomes.Methods: A total of 60 patients diagnosed with T2DM, and ACS were randomly recruited into two treatment groups each of 30 patients to receive either gliclazide monotherapy (SU) or vildagliptin (DPP4i)+gliclazide (SU) add-on therapy, administered in a double-blind fashion. Outpatient visits were scheduled at 3, 6, and 12 mo where patient was reevaluated for cardiovascular (CV) outcomes and followed up for any arising cardiovascular complication.Results: The vildagliptin (DPP4i) plus gliclazide (SU) add-on therapy group have significantly shown more improved glycemic control, lipid profile and ventricular performance compared to gliclazide (SU) monotherapy group with p values<0.05.Conclusion: Vildagliptin as a DPP4i provides favourable cardiovascular effects beyond glucose control. Yet, its long-term safety and efficacy data still needs further investigations

MEK inhibitors: a promising targeted therapy for cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents the leading cause of mortality and disability all over the world. Identifying new targeted therapeutic approaches has become a priority of biomedical research to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. The RAS-RAF-MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase)-ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway is gaining growing interest as a potential signaling cascade implicated in the pathogenesis of CVD. This pathway is pivotal in regulating cellular processes like proliferation, growth, migration, differentiation, and survival, which are vital in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis. In addition, ERK signaling is involved in controlling angiogenesis, vascular tone, myocardial contractility, and oxidative stress. Dysregulation of this signaling cascade has been linked to cell dysfunction and vascular and cardiac pathological remodeling, which contribute to the onset and progression of CVD. Recent and ongoing research has provided insights into potential therapeutic interventions targeting the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway to improve cardiovascular pathologies. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of targeted therapy with MEK inhibitors (MEKI) in attenuating ERK activation and mitigating CVD progression in animal models. In this article, we first describe how ERK signaling contributes to preserving cardiovascular health. We then summarize current knowledge of the roles played by ERK in the development and progression of cardiac and vascular disorders, including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and aortic aneurysm. We finally report novel therapeutic strategies for these CVDs encompassing MEKI and discuss advantages, challenges, and future developments for MEKI therapeutics

Enabling comparison of UrQMD with Geant4 hadronic models

Geant4 has an abundant set of physics models that handle the diverse interaction of particles with matter across a wide energy range. However, there are also many well established reaction codes currently used in the same fields where Geant4 is applied. One such code is the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) model. In order to take advantage of the UrQMD code, we create a tool to enable comparisons among UrQMD and Geant4 hadronic models. This tool allows a user to process the output file of UrQMD through Geant4 toolkit, while at the same time, can choose among different Geant4 hadronic model generators. As an example, the UrQMD model is compared with the HARP-CDP experimental data and with the Binary and FRITIOF generators, in the framework of Geant4. It is shown that the UrQMD model can better reproduce charged pion production for p+Cu and Pb interactions at 3, 8 and 15 GeV/c, and is a good candidate for Geant4 hadronic models.Comment: 17 pages, 5 Figure

Remote Sensing Satellites Planning System

A Remote Sensing Satellites Planning system (RSSP) for satellite constellations is responsible for managing these satellites by assigning the imaging tasks to each satellite in the constellation such that the loads are balanced and the resources are well used. The proposed system can be used with heterogeneous constellations that consist of satellites whose different specifications, different orbits' types and/or different payload types. This problem is a combinatorial optimization NP-hard problem modeled in this paper as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem using the Constraint Programming Technique. The output plan is obtained using one of three objective functions (gain maximization, area maximization, and image quality maximization) using four search algorithms (simulated annealing, hill climbing, tabu search and late acceptance) and different planning horizons (one track, one day and one month)

Anatomical variations of hepatic artery using the multidetector computed tomography angiography

Background: The frequency of normal and aberrant hepatic arteries differs among ethnicities. The aim of our work was to study the frequency of normal and aberrant hepatic arteries among Egyptians using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and to compare our prevalence with the prevalence of other nationalities. In addition, the gender differences of such variations were clarified. Moreover, the arterial feeding of hepatic segment IV was determined. Materials and methods: The present study was carried out on 500 patients (409 males and 91 females). Abdominal CT was performed using two MDCT systems, a 64-row, and a 256-slice system. Results: According to Michel’s classification, the normal anatomy (type I) was observed in 369 (73.8%) cases, while anomalous hepatic arterial pattern was detected in 131 (26.2%) cases. These anomalies were distributed as follows: type II in 36 (7.2%) cases, type III in 60 (12%) cases, types IV and V in 5 cases for each (1% each), type VI in 14 (2.8%) and types VIII and IX in a single case for each (0.2% each). Neither type VII nor type X was detected. Nine (1.8%) unclassified cases were observed. According to Hiaat’s classification, the anomalies were distributed as follows: type II in 41 (8.2%) cases, type III in 74 (14.8%) cases, type IV in 6 (1.2%) cases, type V in a single case (0.2%) and type VI in 2 (0.4%) cases. Finally, 7 (1.4%) unclassified cases were observed. Common hepatic artery (CHA) originated from coeliac trunk in 98% (79.8% males and 18.2% females). It originated from the abdominal aorta in 0.4% and from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in 0.4%. It was absent in 1.2%. Right hepatic artery (RHA) originated from the CHA in 86.6% (69.8% males and 16.8% females) and from the SMA in 13.2% (11.8% males and 1.4% females) and from the abdominal aorta in 0.2% (a single male case). Left hepatic artery (LHA) originated from the CHA in 91.2% and from the left gastric artery (LGA) in 8.8%. The most common origin of the segment IV blood supply was the LHA in 60.8%, followed by the RHA in 35%. Less commonly, blood supply derived from the hepatic artery proper (HAP) in 1%. Combined supply derived from RHA and LHA in 0.8%, from the LHA and HAP in 2% and the least encountered was from the RHA and HAP in 0.4%. Conclusions: Hepatic artery variations among Egyptians have a different distribution when compared to such variations among other species. The normal hepatic arterial pattern was observed in 73.8%, while the anomalous was detected in 26.2%. The CHA originated from the coeliac trunk in 98%, the RHA originated from the CHA in 86.6% and the LHA originated from the CHA in 91.2%. The most common arterial supply of the hepatic segment IV is derived from the LHA (60.2%)