An interdisciplinary framework for Islamic cognitive theories

The Islamic psychology (IP) community in Europe has recently witnessed a heated debate about the credentials required to participate in the theoretical substantiation of IP and Islamically integrated psychotherapy and counseling. This debate has provided convenient circumstances for Muslim psychologists and Islamic scholars alike to rethink their roles within the flourishing movement. Specifically, the discussions hint toward the importance of adopting a collaborative research methodology for IP, in particular for basic research. The methodology of choice will need to define the necessary qualifications and responsibilities of scholars and psychologists in a collaborative research process (personal collaboration) and evince its capability to appropriately marry knowledge and data, diverging research methods, and perspectives, concepts, and theories from Islamic studies and contemporary psychology (content-related collaboration). Here, we devise and offer a case illustration of an Islamic Psychology Basic Research Framework (coined the SALAAM Framework). This framework uses the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) Model of Interdisciplinary Research, developed by the IIS at the University of Amsterdam. Our first aim is to appropriate the IIS model for the IP literature by applying the model's research process phases and technique for the integration of disparate bodies of knowledge—that is, the identification of common ground—to methodological approaches in the contemporary IP literature. Our second aim is to exemplify the devised SALAAM Framework using the relatively unexplored area of Islamic cognitive theories (ICTs), which remain underdeveloped in contemporary psychological literature, primarily because of a lack of commensurability with the nomenclature of contemporary psychology. We thus provide a primer on the potential scope of ICTs. Toward the end of this article, we discuss the potential of the project of interdisciplinary construction of Islamic psychological theory, and the ability of the SALAAM Framework to establish a research program in IP that centers on cognition. We finally offer our reflections on the distinctiveness of Islamic psychologies in comparison to mainstream and Christian psychology.Q4WOS:0004589189000062-s2.0-8506156876

Double-check: validation of diagnostic statistics for PLS-DA models in metabolomics studies

Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) is a PLS regression method with a special binary ‘dummy’ y-variable and it is commonly used for classification purposes and biomarker selection in metabolomics studies. Several statistical approaches are currently in use to validate outcomes of PLS-DA analyses e.g. double cross validation procedures or permutation testing. However, there is a great inconsistency in the optimization and the assessment of performance of PLS-DA models due to many different diagnostic statistics currently employed in metabolomics data analyses. In this paper, properties of four diagnostic statistics of PLS-DA, namely the number of misclassifications (NMC), the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUROC), Q2 and Discriminant Q2 (DQ2) are discussed. All four diagnostic statistics are used in the optimization and the performance assessment of PLS-DA models of three different-size metabolomics data sets obtained with two different types of analytical platforms and with different levels of known differences between two groups: control and case groups. Statistical significance of obtained PLS-DA models was evaluated with permutation testing. PLS-DA models obtained with NMC and AUROC are more powerful in detecting very small differences between groups than models obtained with Q2 and Discriminant Q2 (DQ2). Reproducibility of obtained PLS-DA models outcomes, models complexity and permutation test distributions are also investigated to explain this phenomenon. DQ2 and Q2 (in contrary to NMC and AUROC) prefer PLS-DA models with lower complexity and require higher number of permutation tests and submodels to accurately estimate statistical significance of the model performance. NMC and AUROC seem more efficient and more reliable diagnostic statistics and should be recommended in two group discrimination metabolomic studies

Cryopreservation of adenovirus-transfected dendritic cells (DCs) for clinical use

In this study, we examined the effects of cryoprotectant, freezing and thawing, and adenovirus (Adv) transduction on the viability, transgene expression, phenotype, and function of human dendritic cells (DCs). DCs were differentiated from cultured peripheral blood (PB) monocytes following Elutra isolation using granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) for 6 days and then transduced using an Adv vector with an IL-12 transgene. Fresh, cryopreserved, and thawed transduced immature DCs were examined for their: 1) cellular concentration and viability; 2) antigenicity using an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR); 3) phenotype (HLA-DR and CD11c) and activation (CD83); and 4) transgene expression based on IL-12 secretion. Stability studies revealed that transduced DCs could be held in cryoprotectant for as long as 75 min at 2-8 degrees C prior to freezing with little effect on their viability and cellularity. Further, cryopreservation, storage, and thawing reduced the viability of the transduced DCs by an average of 7.7%; and had no significant impact on DC phenotype and activation. In summary, cryopreservation, storage, and thawing had no significant effect on DC viability, function, and transgene expression by Adv-transduced DCs. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Nebraska Research InitiativeThis research was funded through the Nebraska Research Initiative. None of the contributing authors has any financial conflict of interest

Hybrid Halloysite Nanotubes as Smart Carriers for Corrosion Protection

Novel hybrid halloysite nanotubes (HHNTs) were developed and used as smart carriers for corrosion protection of steel. For this purpose, as-received halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were loaded with a corrosion inhibitor, imidazole (IM), by vacuum encapsulation. In the next step, a layer by layer technique was employed to intercalate another inhibitor, dodecylamine (DDA), in the polyelectrolyte multilayers of polyethylenimine and sulfonated polyether ether ketone, leading to the formation of HHNTs. During this process, IM (5 wt %) was successfully encapsulated into the lumen of HNTs, while DDA (0.4 wt %) was effectively intercalated into the polyelectrolyte layers. Later, the HHNTs (3 wt %) were thoroughly dispersed into the epoxy matrix to develop smart hybrid self-healing polymeric coatings designated as hybrid coatings. For a precise evaluation, epoxy coatings containing as-received HNTs (3 wt %) without any loading denoted to as reference coatings and modified coatings containing HNTs loaded with IM-loaded HNTs (3 wt %) were also developed. A comparative analysis elucidates that the hybrid coatings demonstrate decent thermal stability, improved mechanical properties, and promising anticorrosion properties compared to the reference and modified coatings. The calculated corrosion inhibition efficiencies of the modified and hybrid coatings are 92 and 99.8%, respectively, when compared to the reference coatings. Noticeably, the superior anticorrosion properties of hybrid coatings can be attributed to the synergetic effect of both the inhibitors loaded into HHNTs and their efficient release in response to the localized pH change of the corrosive medium. Moreover, IM shows an active release in both acidic and basic media, which makes it suitable for the protection of steel at the early stages of damage, while DDA being efficiently released in the acidic medium may contribute to impeding the corrosion activity at the later stages of deterioration. The tempting properties of hybrid coatings demonstrate the beneficial role of the development of novel HHNTs and their use as smart carriers in the polymeric matrix for corrosion protection of steel.This publication was made possible by NPRP11S-1226-170132 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation). Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. The authors would like to thank the Central laboratory Unit (CLU), Qatar University, for SEM analysis. The authors also acknowledge the support of Core lab-QEERI (HBKU) for proving TEM analysis.Scopu