Japanese Anime Fandoms in the UAE: An Exploratory Study on Media Accessibility, Habits and Cultural Perceptions

The satellite TV revolution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the early 1990s precipitated the proliferation of foreign media broadcasts. Japanese anime dubbed into Arabic became the most-watched content in Emirati households, a trend that continues to date because the Japanese entertainment and digital media industry offers youngsters easy access to and diverse options for anime. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the growing popularity of anime fandoms in the UAE to ascertain the level of commitment, involvement and the moral perceptions of Emirati fans vis-à-vis Japanese pop culture. A focus group discussion was conducted in a leading UAE university among the otaku or aficionados of Japanese anime (males and females). The participant responses offered comprehensive insights into the fandom trends of the region and articulated interesting opinions on Japanese pop culture and digital media accessibility. Notably, the findings of this study suggested that the enthusiasm of this fan following is often obstructed rather than celebrated and thus cannot achieve its potential. Therefore, the study finally contemplates how Emirati otaku and their practices may be better supported in UAE

Emirati women illustrators on Instagram: An exploratory study

Instagram has become a popular social media platform for visual expression: many Emirati youth are drawn to the platform because it is one of the most widespread social networks, allowing them to share information, pictures and personal stories. This research study will analyze a collection of illustrations posted on Instagram by a selected group of female Emirati artists by relating these posts to their social context. It employs a qualitative approach involving personal interviews to identify points of view related to the existing visual material created by these ‘avant-garde’ illustrators. The results show that a new trend of illustration stemming from Japanese animé and manga is emerging among young female Emirati artists whose Instagram posts constitute a subtle commentary about local traditions while revealing cultural inhibitions. The study also reveals how these illustrators’ artwork impacts their followers and how these, conversely, contribute to shape the artists’ work. The illustrators discuss the challenges they face and offer reflections on how best to grow their practice to reach a wider audience

Japanese Anime Fandoms in the UAE: An Exploratory Study on Media Accessibility, Habits and Cultural Perceptions

The satellite TV revolution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the early 1990s precipitated the proliferation of foreign media broadcasts. Japanese anime dubbed into Arabic became the most-watched content in Emirati households, a trend that continues to date because the Japanese entertainment and digital media industry offers youngsters easy access to and diverse options for anime. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the growing popularity of anime fandoms in the UAE to ascertain the level of commitment, involvement and the moral perceptions of Emirati fans vis-à-vis Japanese pop culture. A focus group discussion was conducted in a leading UAE university among the otaku or aficionados of Japanese anime (males and females). The participant responses offered comprehensive insights into the fandom trends of the region and articulated interesting opinions on Japanese pop culture and digital media accessibility. Notably, the findings of this study suggested that the enthusiasm of this fan following is often obstructed rather than celebrated and thus cannot achieve its potential. Therefore, the study finally contemplates how Emirati otaku and their practices may be better supported in UAE

Innovative Education: Future and Challenge in Educational Research on Teaching and Learning toward Professional Development

Higher Education is considered the final step that enables young adults to become mature, well-trained and efficient employees, ready to embrace a working life. Throughout the world, new programs are constantly created in order to prepare young people, adapting new methodologies and techniques in alignment with the job demand offered by new emerging industries. This study is a guideline on how to initiate a new undergraduate program within high education institutions: it considers fundamental steps that assess and verify the need of such program, and whether it is viable. It then elucidates on all the necessary steps needed to develop a proper curriculum; finally, it enlists approval bodies in order to get the program up and running

Development and analysis of primary cultures from the midgut of the honey bee, Apis mellifera

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is an important research species of tremendous agricultural and economic importance. However, relatively few in vitro techniques are described for investigating honey bee physiology at the cellular or molecular level. This project describes a new technique for developing primary cell lines from the midgut of adult honey bees and characterizes the impact of donor age on the longevity, differentiation, and proliferation of intestinal stem cells within these cultures. Additionally, this study characterizes the effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone on intestinal stem cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro. Suspension cultures of midgut cells obtained through non-enzymatic dissociation were cultured in WH2 media with 1 µg/mL penicillin/streptomycin and 0.25 µg/mL Amphotericin B survived for up to 15 days. Age of donor had no significant effect on the longevity of cultures or rate of cell differentiation. However, the number of viable intestinal stem cells was significantly different between cultures from pre-eclosion pharate adults and cultures from workers. A 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assay found very low levels of proliferation in cultures from all ages with the exception of foragers. Addition of 20-hydroxyecdysone did not affect the either longevity of the culture or the rate of cell differentiation or proliferation. These results suggest that the behavior of stem cells in culture is impacted by the age of the donor while differentiation is independent of age. Further, this work supports the idea that intestinal stem cells lose their proliferative capacity with age. The lack of effect of 20-hydroxyecdysone on measured parameters may indicate a physiological difference in the midguts of Apis mellifera and lepidopteran species and warrants further investigation. These cultures provide a starting point for future use as a model for honey bee midgut molecular and cellular physiology as well as in vitro studies of honey bee intestinal health

Early-life DNA methylation profiles are indicative of age-related transcriptome changes.

BACKGROUND: Alterations to cellular and molecular programs with brain aging result in cognitive impairment and susceptibility to neurodegenerative disease. Changes in DNA methylation patterns, an epigenetic modification required for various CNS functions are observed with brain aging and can be prevented by anti-aging interventions, but the relationship of altered methylation to gene expression is poorly understood. RESULTS: Paired analysis of the hippocampal methylome and transcriptome with aging of male and female mice demonstrates that age-related differences in methylation and gene expression are anti-correlated within gene bodies and enhancers. Altered promoter methylation with aging was found to be generally un-related to altered gene expression. A more striking relationship was found between methylation levels at young age and differential gene expression with aging. Highly methylated gene bodies and promoters in early life were associated with age-related increases in gene expression even in the absence of significant methylation changes with aging. As well, low levels of methylation in early life were correlated to decreased expression with aging. This relationship was also observed in genes altered in two mouse Alzheimer\u27s models. CONCLUSION: DNA methylation patterns established in youth, in combination with other epigenetic marks, were able to accurately predict changes in transcript trajectories with aging. These findings are consistent with the developmental origins of disease hypothesis and indicate that epigenetic variability in early life may explain differences in aging trajectories and age-related disease

Food manipulation in honey bees induces physiological responses at the individual and colony level.

Apis mellifera experiences large population declines in the USA and honeybee health is affected by many, potentially interacting factors that need to be addressed through a variety of approaches. In this context, we evaluated the impact of nutritional manipulations on worker physiology and colony demography. Specifically, we manipulated protein availability by feeding colonies on royal jelly, low-quality pollen, or regular pollen stores. After acclimation to these treatments, experimental cohorts of workers were introduced and later assessed with regards to life expectancy, protein content, and intestinal stem cell proliferation. We also monitored their hives for the amount of workers, brood, and pollen trapped in front of the hive entrances. Workers that fed on royal jelly showed a reduced rate of intestinal stem cell proliferation at nurse bee age. Total soluble protein content of individuals and adult worker lifespan were not systematically affected. However, we cannot exclude an auxiliary role of poor nutrition to declining bee health by weakening the intestinal epithelium. In contrast to the weak experimental effects on individual variables, the brood production differed drastically among the experimental hives. Although not yet replicated, this observation might indicate that hive demographic plasticity rather than individual plasticity is important for acclimation to different food regimes

Murine MPDZ-linked hydrocephalus is caused by hyperpermeability of the choroid plexus.

Though congenital hydrocephalus is heritable, it has been linked only to eight genes, one of which is MPDZ Humans and mice that carry a truncated version of MPDZ incur severe hydrocephalus resulting in acute morbidity and lethality. We show by magnetic resonance imaging that contrast medium penetrates into the brain ventricles of mice carrying a Mpdz loss-of-function mutation, whereas none is detected in the ventricles of normal mice, implying that the permeability of the choroid plexus epithelial cell monolayer is abnormally high. Comparative proteomic analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid of normal and hydrocephalic mice revealed up to a 53-fold increase in protein concentration, suggesting that transcytosis through the choroid plexus epithelial cells of Mpdz KO mice is substantially higher than in normal mice. These conclusions are supported by ultrastructural evidence, and by immunohistochemistry and cytology data. Our results provide a straightforward and concise explanation for the pathophysiology of Mpdz-linked hydrocephalus

Reducing Urinary Tract Infections in Adult Hospitalized Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Quality Improvement Project

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) remain among the most common healthcare-associated infections, leading to increased morbidity and mortality in hospitalized adult patients. Methods: An interdisciplinary team initiated a quality improvement project to help reduce CAUTIs in a South Florida hospital. The project included using a CAUTI bundle consisting of indwelling catheter protocols, electronic bladder management order sets, nursing staff education, and implementation of external urinary catheters during the years 2020 through 2022. Results: The CAUTI bundle demonstrated positive outcomes in decreasing CAUTI rates. During our fiscal year 2022, there were 63% fewer CAUTIs (n = 23) compared to 2020 (n = 62). Conclusion: We reached our organizational goals of decreasing CAUTI rates to 10% below the national benchmark and improving patient outcomes

Temporomandibular joint loads in subjects with and without disc displacement

The likelihood of development of degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is related to the integrity of the TMJ disc. Predilection for mechanical failure of the TMJ disc may reflect inter-individual differences in TMJ loads. Nine females and eight males in each of normal TMJ disc position and bilateral disc displacement diagnostic groups consented to participate in our study. Disc position was determined by bilateral magnetic resonance images of the joints. Three-dimensional (3D) anatomical geometry of each subject was used in a validated computer-assisted numerical model to calculate ipsilateral and contralateral TMJ loads for a range of biting positions (incisor, canine, molar) and angles (1–13). Each TMJ load was a resultant vector at the anterosuperior-most mediolateral midpoint on the condyle and characterized in terms of magnitude and 3D orientation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for effects of biting position and angle on TMJ loads. Mean TMJ loads in subjects with disc displacement were 9.5–69% higher than in subjects with normal disc position. During canine biting, TMJ loads in subjects with disc displacement were 43% (ipsilateral condyle,p=0.029) and 49% (contralateral condyle,p=0.015) higher on average than in subjects with normal disc position. Biting angle effects showed that laterally directed forces on the dentition produced ipsilateral joint loads, which on average were 69% higher (p=0.002) compared to individuals with normal TMJ disc position. The data reported here describe large differences in TMJ loads between individuals with disc displacement and normal disc position. The results support future investigations of inter-individual differences in joint mechanics as a variable in the development of DJD of the TMJ