Dynamic Response Of Multistory Reinforced Concrete Buildings Having Different Types Of Isolators A Parametric Study

Approaches to isolating the base have become a crucial element in enhancing quality stability during a seismic earthquake load. In the present day, base detachment is routinely utilized as an essential arrangement technique for structures and frameworks in seismically active zones. This paper aims towards the dynamic analysis of a multi-story RCC building with various parameters. For the sake of study and verification, a model of a ten-story RCC building with a symmetrical floor plan is considered. The study was conducted using SAP 2000's time-history-based software. In this paper,72 models were studied based on various parameters such as bay width, number of bays, number of floors, and various isolators (Lead Rubber Bearings, Friction Pendulum Bearing, Fixed, and Hinge). The reaction of the structure, for example, time period, base shear, and story displacements are studied and a comparison is made. The paper showed the clear superiority of isolation methods in resisting earthquakes. The friction pendulum support has been the preferred type due to the lowest drift story of the building when it was compared with other support systems. Also, as the results showed a high time period when using the lead rubber bearings, which shows the model's ability to withstand earthquakes

Impact of Human Capital Development and Human Capital Isolation Mechanisms on Innovative Performance: Evidence from Industrial Companies in Jordan

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of human capital development mechanisms (training, incentives structure and attraction of skilled employees) and human capital isolation mechanisms (specificity of company resources and internal characteristics of knowledge in the company) on organizational human capital development and enhancement (well-educated, well-trained employees with suitable job experience). In addition, the study tried to examine the impact of organizational human capital on innovative performance (introduction of new products, replacement of old products, quality of new products and work processes innovations). A questionnaire was developed to collect data from a sample consisting of 500 managers working in selected industrial Jordanian companies at different levels of management. A total of 463 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 92.6%. The results found significant as well as positive impacts of human capital development mechanisms and human capital isolation mechanisms on organizational human capital, which in turn significantly affected innovative performance. The results of the study confirmed the acceptance of all hypotheses. The originality of the current study is that it tested and confirmed the important role played by different variables related to the development of organizational human capital which in turn delivers improvements in innovation performance. In light of these results, the study recommends the need to protect human capital through the use of isolation mechanisms in addition to the use of development mechanisms employed in the current study. For future studies, the study recommends the use of additional mechanisms associated with the development and isolation of human capital as this has demonstrated a positive impact in improving innovation performance. Keywords: human capital development, human capital isolation mechanisms, innovative performance. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-15-21 Publication date:May 31st 201

Prostacyclin mimetics inhibit DRP1-mediated pro-proliferative mitochondrial fragmentation in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare cardiopulmonary disorder, involving the remodelling of the small pulmonary arteries. Underlying this remodelling is the hyper-proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells within the medial layers of these arteries and their encroachment on the lumen. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between excessive mitochondrial fragmentation, a consequence of increased expression and post-translational activation of the mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), and pathological proliferation in PASMCs derived from PAH patients. However, the impact of prostacyclin mimetics, widely used in the treatment of PAH, on this pathological mitochondrial fragmentation remains unexplored. We hypothesise that these agents, which are known to attenuate the proliferative phenotype of PAH PASMCs, do so in part by inhibiting mitochondrial fragmentation. In this study, we confirmed the previously reported increase in DRP1-mediated mitochondrial hyper-fragmentation in PAH PASMCs. We then showed that the prostacyclin mimetic treprostinil signals via either the Gs-coupled IP or EP2 receptor to inhibit mitochondrial fragmentation and the associated hyper-proliferation in a manner analogous to the DRP1 inhibitor Mdivi-1. We also showed that treprostinil recruits either the IP or EP2 receptor to activate PKA and induce the phosphorylation of DRP1 at the inhibitory residue S637 and inhibit that at the stimulatory residue S616, both of which are suggestive of reduced DRP1 fission activity. Like treprostinil, MRE-269, an IP receptor agonist, and butaprost, an EP2 receptor agonist, attenuated DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation through PKA. We conclude that prostacyclin mimetics produce their anti-proliferative effects on PAH PASMCs in part by inhibiting DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation

Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs

Consanguineous marriages have been practiced since the early existence of modern humans. Until now consanguinity is widely practiced in several global communities with variable rates depending on religion, culture, and geography. Arab populations have a long tradition of consanguinity due to socio-cultural factors. Many Arab countries display some of the highest rates of consanguineous marriages in the world, and specifically first cousin marriages which may reach 25-30% of all marriages. In some countries like Qatar, Yemen, and UAE, consanguinity rates are increasing in the current generation. Research among Arabs and worldwide has indicated that consanguinity could have an effect on some reproductive health parameters such as postnatal mortality and rates of congenital malformations. The association of consanguinity with other reproductive health parameters, such as fertility and fetal wastage, is controversial. The main impact of consanguinity, however, is an increase in the rate of homozygotes for autosomal recessive genetic disorders. Worldwide, known dominant disorders are more numerous than known recessive disorders. However, data on genetic disorders in Arab populations as extracted from the Catalogue of Transmission Genetics in Arabs (CTGA) database indicate a relative abundance of recessive disorders in the region that is clearly associated with the practice of consanguinity

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Isolation and characterisation of a bacterial strain with control activity against post-harvest mould from citrus

The susceptibility of citrus fruits to microbial pathogens, especially green and blue moulds, is one of the difficulties that face citrus fruits suppliers to keep these fruits in good condition for consumers. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a safe and efficient method to preserve them during transportation and storage. This study focused on searching for a bacterial strain that have antifungal activity against moulds that attack citrus fruits. Environmental samples were screened for microorganisms with antifungal activity against Penicillium fungi that were isolated from infected lemon fruits. Twenty out of 500 isolated bacterial strains showed inhibitory activity against Penicillium, 16 of these strains were excluded from further study because they belonged to the genus Bacillus which has been widely studied as a bio-agent in the biological control. The results of phenotyping and the genotyping characteristics on the other active strain (4 isolates) proved that they were Pseudomonas koreensis. These four isolates differed in their antifungal activity, isolate B had the best suppression activity either with or without living cells (in concentrated spent media) which was mainly linked to the difference in lytic enzyme production capability (protease, chitinase and others). In addition, the active strain was able to produce siderophores and biosurfactants which could take part in the suppression activity. The antifungal activity in broth culture is produced during the log phase of the bacterial growth. The primary characterization of the antifungal activity showed it was heat sensitive, and not stable against pH changes (especially raising the pH), was sensitive to the treatment with proteinase K and appeared to have a molecular weight >3000 Da which suggested a protein nature for the active molecule. In addition, Tn5 mutagenesis was employed to identify the gene(s) that is responsible for the inhibition activity, the obtained results from one of the mutants showed that the antifungal activity may be linked in some way to the acquisition of iron, making it unavailable for the fungal growth

دراسة انتشار الغمش وأسبابه لدى طلاب الحلقة الأولى من التعليم الأساسي في محافظة اللاذقية

الهدف: دراسة انتشار الغمش وأسبابه لدى طلاب الحلقة الأولى من التعليم الأساسي في محافظة اللاذقية. الطرائق والمواد: تم فحص 946 طالب في هذه الدراسة المقطعية، استبعد منهم 7 طلاب، وتم اختيار المدارس بشكل عشوائي من مدراس الحلقة الأولى في محافظة اللاذقية في الجمهورية العربية السورية، وتم اختيار الطلاب عشوائيا وتراوحت أعمارهم من 6 إلى 12 سنة خلال العام 2023. تم جمع المعلومات المتعلقة بالطلاب من خلال استبيان صمم خصيصاً لغرض البحث تم إرساله إلى ذوي الطلاب، تم قياس القدرة البصرية لجميع الطلاب من دون تصحيح أو مع نظارات (بحال وجودها) باستخدام  مخطط القدرة البصرية E-chart على بعد 5 م. تم قياس الانكسار للطلاب ممن كان لديهم حدة ابصار دون 10/10 باستخدام جهاز قياس أسواء الانكسار الآلي قبل وبعد شل المطابقة. بالنسبة لشل المطابقة تم تقطير ثلاث قطرات من السيكلوبينتولات   (Cyclomed 1%, Medico Pharma Syria) بكل عين بفاصل عشر دقائق وقياس الانكسار بعد القطرة الثالثة بثلاثين دقيقة. كما تم الحصول على موافقة لجنة الأخلاقيات والبحث العلمي في جامعة تشرين، سورية. النتائج: نسبة انتشار الغمش 1.9% (18مريض)، كانت أسباب الغمش وفق التسلسل من الأشيع غمش تفاوت الانكسار (8) مرضى، غمش انكساري ثنائي الجانب (5) مرضى، غمش حولي (4) مرضى، غمش حرمان بصري (1) مريض. لم نثبت ارتباطاً بين الجنس أو الدرجة العلمية للاهل أو العمر مع الغمش، اكتشفنا وجود علاقة بين الغمش ومكان السكن ريف/مدينة حيث كانت نسبة الانتشار اقل في الريف.     الخلاصة: إن نسبة انتشار الغمش في محافظة اللاذقية تقع ضمن النسب العالمية المنخفضة، وهذا ما يشير إلى واقع صحي جيد جداً من الناحية العينية للأطفال. تفاوت الانكسار كان العامل الأهم بتطور الغمش يليه الانكسار العالي المتساوي في العينين.

دراسة انتشار الغمش وأسبابه لدى طلاب الحلقة الأولى من التعليم الأساسي في محافظة اللاذقية

الهدف: دراسة انتشار الغمش وأسبابه لدى طلاب الحلقة الأولى من التعليم الأساسي في محافظة اللاذقية. الطرائق والمواد: تم فحص 946 طالب في هذه الدراسة المقطعية، استبعد منهم 7 طلاب، وتم اختيار المدارس بشكل عشوائي من مدراس الحلقة الأولى في محافظة اللاذقية في الجمهورية العربية السورية، وتم اختيار الطلاب عشوائيا وتراوحت أعمارهم من 6 إلى 12 سنة خلال العام 2023. تم جمع المعلومات المتعلقة بالطلاب من خلال استبيان صمم خصيصاً لغرض البحث تم إرساله إلى ذوي الطلاب، تم قياس القدرة البصرية لجميع الطلاب من دون تصحيح أو مع نظارات (بحال وجودها) باستخدام  مخطط القدرة البصرية E-chart على بعد 5 م. تم قياس الانكسار للطلاب ممن كان لديهم حدة ابصار دون 10/10 باستخدام جهاز قياس أسواء الانكسار الآلي قبل وبعد شل المطابقة. بالنسبة لشل المطابقة تم تقطير ثلاث قطرات من السيكلوبينتولات   (Cyclomed 1%, Medico Pharma Syria) بكل عين بفاصل عشر دقائق وقياس الانكسار بعد القطرة الثالثة بثلاثين دقيقة. كما تم الحصول على موافقة لجنة الأخلاقيات والبحث العلمي في جامعة تشرين، سورية. النتائج: نسبة انتشار الغمش 1.9% (18مريض)، كانت أسباب الغمش وفق التسلسل من الأشيع غمش تفاوت الانكسار (8) مرضى، غمش انكساري ثنائي الجانب (5) مرضى، غمش حولي (4) مرضى، غمش حرمان بصري (1) مريض. لم نثبت ارتباطاً بين الجنس أو الدرجة العلمية للاهل أو العمر مع الغمش، اكتشفنا وجود علاقة بين الغمش ومكان السكن ريف/مدينة حيث كانت نسبة الانتشار اقل في الريف.     الخلاصة: إن نسبة انتشار الغمش في محافظة اللاذقية تقع ضمن النسب العالمية المنخفضة، وهذا ما يشير إلى واقع صحي جيد جداً من الناحية العينية للأطفال. تفاوت الانكسار كان العامل الأهم بتطور الغمش يليه الانكسار العالي المتساوي في العينين.

The intensification of the role of Salafi Jihadist groups in light of the Arab Spring revolutions

This study aims to explore the phenomenon of the Salafi Jihadist groups, especially after the so-called Arab Spring which broke out at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. The study seeks to explore the groups' achieved success making use of the status of chaos and turmoil that prevailed after the fall of some Arab regimes. Especially that the increased risks of such success exceeded the local borders to gain a regional and international influence. The study attempts to answer the following question: Did the Arab Spring revolutions promote the increased spread of the Salafi Jihadist groups in the Arabic world? To answer this question and achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach to assess the phenomenon of the Jihadist groups; and the historical approach to outline the stages of their historical development. The study includes four chapters as well as an introduction and a conclusion. Chapter I deals with the general framework for the study. Chapter II tackles the theoretical framework and the previous literature. The chapter particularly addresses theoretical concepts related to the concept of the revolutions, the concept of Political Islam, and the Salafi concept. Chapter III explores the historical development of the Salafi Jihadist groups since the early 1970s until their rise during the Arab Spring revolutions. In this regard, the study discusses three forms of the Salafi groups in order to identify commonalities, similarities and differences among them. Chapter IV further explores the Salafi groups and Arab spring revolutions in terms of causes of revolutions, repercussions and implications, and similarities and differences. In this context, the study addresses the conditions that prevailed in the Arab world during the transitional phase, which has created a suitable environment for the growth and flourishing of these groups. It also looks at how differences and contradictions of regional and international policies have provided these groups with elements of steadfastness and expansion. Finally, the study provides a forward-looking vision for the future of these groups. The study has reached some conclusions; the main one is that transitional period realities in the countries of the Arab Spring have created suitable conditions which have helped the Salafi Jihadist groups to rise and grow fast. The second conclusion is that a comprehensive strategy is needed to defeat these groups; such strategy should not rely only on the military and security aspects, but must also consider the ideological factor, as the ideology front is an important area to contradict the extremist rules and beliefs. The study also calls for reassessment of the behavior of the international community and its double standard policies in dealing with issues and crises of the region, and argues for the necessity of presenting real and applicable solutions for these crises. It particularly mentions the Palestinian cause, where the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian holy land is the main excuse for these groups to exist and to continue their activitie

The Effect of Bi-Spectral Index on Recovery and Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Caesarean section

Background and Aim: Anesthesia has several side effects which are different based on the type of surgery, medication, and depth of anesthesia. The present study aimed at identifying the effect of bi-spectral index monitoring on recovery and postoperative complications in caesarean. Materials and Methods: In this double-blinded clinical trial study with control group, 68 women who were candidates for caesarean were selected using available sampling method and were then randomly assigned in to two groups. For the control group, anesthetic maintenance drug was prescribed based on every body’s weight and hemodynamic conditions while intervention group received titrated dose of anesthetic maintenance drug as needed for maintaining bi-spectral index between 40 and 60. Data collection tool.included a researcher-designed checklist in which the time of extubation after surgery, discharge from the recovery unit (based on Aldert benchmark), and complications during recovery were recorded in addition to demographic data. The obtained data was analyzed by SPSSsoftware(V:16) using statistical independent T test, as well as Fisher Exact test. at the significant level of P<0.05. Results: Mean time of extubation was 7.76 ±3.12 in the control group and 3.59 ± 1.04 minutes in the intervention group (P<0.001). Mean time of discharge from recovery ward was 18.06 ± 5.92 in the control and 11.55 ±4.39 minutes in the intervention group (P0.05). Conclusion: Bi-spectral indicator, as a monitoring of the depth of anesthesia in caesarean section, speeds up the extubation time, discharge from recovery, and mothers' consciousness to care their babies