Demographical and population dynamics impact on public health of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawra, Saudi Arabia

Background: A cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Madinah Almonawra in KSA held during the period from March 2014-March 2015.Aim of the study: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of population dynamics on the current situation of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawarah area, a holy city that attracts millions of muslims annually.Methodology: Epidemiological and clinical data were collected by especial questionnaire and laboratory specimens were collected using skin scraping and needle aspiration. Staining and direct microscopy were done. LST was conducted. Analysis was done using SPSS program.Results: The study included 164 patients, all of them were men. Saudi nationality comprised around 20% of the study group, the majority were Egyptians, 26.2%, followed by Pakistani, 21.3%.Conclusion: The presence of non-Saudi nationality as foreign workers, immigrants and refugees has worsened the current situation of the disease.Keywords: Cutaneous leishmaniasis, refugees, immigration, L. tropica, L. major. Sandfly

The Response, Operability, and Type of Surgery Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Sudanese Patients with Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Background:Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) treatment has become the standard treatment for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) in many centers worldwide. Objectives: This study evaluates the short-term response of patients with LABC to NACT and its impact on operability and the type of surgery. Patients and Methods: This is a descriptive analytical hospital-based study including 147 patients with LABC who were presented to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit at Soba University hospital (SUH), between January 2012 and December 2014, and were treated with NACT. Clinical and pathological responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy were evaluated according to Union for International Cancer Control criteria, operability, and the type of surgery performed was also recorded. Results: All patients were females, the mean age was 43 ± 7 years, of them 53.7% were pre-menopausal, 51% presented with a breast lump, 19.7% with nipple discharge, and 19% with skin changes and ulceration. The mean initial tumor size was 7 cm ± SD. Following NACT, complete clinical response was reported in 30 patients (20.4%), partial clinical response in 92(62.6%), stable clinical response in 20 (13.6%), and five (3.4%) had progressive clinical response. Initial smaller tumors (size < 5 cm) showed a better clinical response to NACT as 76.7% of complete clinical response was achieved.Pathological complete response was achieved in 25(17%) patients, pathological partial response in 102(74.1%), and pathological stable disease in 13(8.8%). Following NACT, breast conserving surgery was performed in 78(53.1%) patients, Modified Radical Mastectomy in 64(43.5%), 25 of them had Latissimus Dorsi, and five patients were not offered surgery as they developed progressive disease during the study period. Conclusion: Following NACT, it was possible to perform surgery in more than 96% of patients with LABC

a collaboration among refugee newcomers, migrants, activists and anthropologists in Berlin

In 2015, Germany entered what would later become known as the ‘refugee crisis’. The Willkommenskultur (welcoming culture) trope gained political prominence and met with signifi cant challenges. In this article, we focus on a series of encounters in Berlin, bringing together refugee newcomers, migrants, activists and anthropologists. As we thought and wrote together about shared experiences, we discovered the limitations of the normative assumptions of refugee work. One aim of this article is to destabilise terms such as refugee, refugee work, success and failure with our engagements in the aftermath of the ‘crisis’. Refugee work is not exclusively humanitarian aid directed towards the alleviation of suff ering but includes being and doing together. Through productive failures and emergent lessons, the collaboration enhanced our understandings of social categories and the role of anthropology

Utility of amino acid coupled 1,2,4-triazoles in organic synthesis: synthesis of some new antileishmainal agents

Starting from 3-amino-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl) amino acid coupled triazoles 1a-e, new 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-imidazo[2,1-c][1,2,4]triazol-6(5H)-one 2a,b, 3b,d, 6a and 3-N-arly(alkyl) amino acid coupled triazoles 4b,d, 7a,c,d,e have been synthesized as potential antileishmanial agents. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed using elemental and spectral analyses (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and MS). The in vitro antileishmanial potency of the synthesized compounds was evaluated compared to Amphotericin B deoxycholate and miltefosine as lead references. Compounds 2b, 7d and 7e showed perfect IC50 values corresponding to amphotericin B and more patent than miltefosine against L. aethiopica promastigotes.               KEY WORDS: Amino acids, Coupled, Imidazo-1,2,4-Triazole, Promatigote, Antileishmanial Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(3), 559-570.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i3.1

We are Who We Cite: Bridges of Influence Between Natural Language Processing and Other Academic Fields

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is poised to substantially influence the world. However, significant progress comes hand-in-hand with substantial risks. Addressing them requires broad engagement with various fields of study. Yet, little empirical work examines the state of such engagement (past or current). In this paper, we quantify the degree of influence between 23 fields of study and NLP (on each other). We analyzed ~77k NLP papers, ~3.1m citations from NLP papers to other papers, and ~1.8m citations from other papers to NLP papers. We show that, unlike most fields, the cross-field engagement of NLP, measured by our proposed Citation Field Diversity Index (CFDI), has declined from 0.58 in 1980 to 0.31 in 2022 (an all-time low). In addition, we find that NLP has grown more insular -- citing increasingly more NLP papers and having fewer papers that act as bridges between fields. NLP citations are dominated by computer science; Less than 8% of NLP citations are to linguistics, and less than 3% are to math and psychology. These findings underscore NLP's urgent need to reflect on its engagement with various fields.Comment: Published at EMNLP 202

Experimental study of using renewable energy in Yemen

During the last decade, there has been an increased interest to develop renewable energy technologies that could contribute to ever-increasing energy needs. This paper proposes a new PV array-wind-diesel generator hybrid system model to determine the optimal configuration of power systems relevant to different regions in Yemen, Sana’a and Aden. Various renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, energy storage and their applicability in terms of cost and performance are discussed. The collected data for the wind, solar radiation and diesel price were obtained from Civil Aviation & Meteorology Authority in Yemen. The Sensitivity analysis was carried out using Homer program. The results show that wind-diesel-battery model is the most suitable solution for both regions in term of the economic performance

Exploring leadership communication in the United Arab Emirates: Issues of culture and gender

This study aims to identify what makes a successful leader in the UAE within the paradigms of leadership styles and leadership communication. In order to do this, we explore, and potentially challenge, a number of the existing leadership stereotypes that are germane to the region, along with the stereotypical discourse strategies that have been associated with the ways in which men and women enact leadership. We wanted to find out if Emirati nationals would prefer the type of discursive leadership that has been associated with women leaders, that is transformational leadership and collaborative communication, or if they would prefer the discursive leadership that has been stereotypically associated with men in equivalent positions, that is laissez-faire, transactional or paternalisticleadership styles, together with the use of a direct and competitive style of communication. Our findings show that a Western understanding of leadership may be too strictly delineated to account for leadership styles in the Gulf, and also that leaders in the region may effectively draw on a combined set of communication strategies that have been stereotypically attributed elsewhere to male and female leaders

Assessment of Infertility Factors and Their Relative Impact in Pregnancy using Ultrasonography & Hormonal Checkup

Infertility as a social and psychological problem among middle east natives. Among them, Transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) and hormonal tests have been selected to evaluate infertility in this study. The objective was to assess the infertility factors and their relative impact in pregnancy and to deduce the equation to predict infertility. Methods: a retrospective data (morphometric pathologies of uterus and ovaries using TVU and laboratory hormones (FSH, LH)) have been collected from clinics for 180 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Sudan.  The data analyzed by SPSS. The results showed that there were 120 (66.7%) infertile and 60 (33.3%) fertile ladies based on the marriage date. The common ovarian causes of infertility were the polycystic ovary (PCOs) 23.3%, simple cyst 6.1%, hemorrhagic cyst, 4.4%, and uterus causes: 6.7% intramural fibroma, 6.1% retroverted uterus, 2.8% submural fibroma, 2.2 polyps. The general accuracy of Stepwise Linear Discriminant Analysis (SLDA) was 78.9%, for infertile was 70.8% and for fertile 95%. Larger ovarian width indicates significance (p smaller than 0.05) infertility and FSH level low among infertile ladies, but LH is less dependent on discriminatio

Demographical and population dynamics impact on public health of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawra, Saudi Arabia

Background: A cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Madinah Almonawra in KSA held during the period from March 2014-March 2015. Aim of the study: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of population dynamics on the current situation of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawarah area, a holy city that attracts millions of muslims annually. Methodology: Epidemiological and clinical data were collected by especial questionnaire and laboratory specimens were collected using skin scraping and needle aspiration. Staining and direct microscopy were done. LST was conducted. Analysis was done using SPSS program. Results: The study included 164 patients, all of them were men. Saudi nationality comprised around 20% of the study group, the majority were Egyptians, 26.2%, followed by Pakistani, 21.3%. Conclusion: The presence of non-Saudi nationality as foreign workers, immigrants and refugees has worsened the current situation of the disease