Towards a Theory of Digital Stigma and Deep Fake Video Technology Stigmatization in a Digitally Mediated Environment

As social structures and IT becomes intertwined, there is a need for new theoretical perspectives that advance understanding of this intertwinement and its implications for IT and social actors, institutions, and society. This research attempts to develop a theory that conceptualizes the role of technology in creating and manipulating stigma symbols and the subsequent consequences of the resultant symbolic interaction on the social actors, technology, and society. Understanding the changing nature of stigma due to technology is essential in understanding resulting societal manifestations and aids in the timely management of societal implications of the dark side of technology

Patient satisfaction with quality of primary health care in Benghazi, Libya

Introduction: The Libyan National Health System (LNHS) is debated for the paradox of its performance versus impact. It has poor performance, but the national health statistics are good and competitive. There are concerted efforts to manage health care services and to regain the lost trust. A primary health care (PHC) system that focuses on preventive and promotive care is the core focus of LNHS efforts. Objectives: To assess patient satisfaction with quality of PHC assessed in terms of (a) customer profile, (b) patient satisfaction, and (c) health care-seeking behavior. Methodology: A sample of nine health centers and seven polyclinics from various locations in Benghazi, Libya were selected for gathering information by structured face-to-face interviews. A total of 310 beneficiaries were interviewed by using an Arabic translation of the Charleston Psychiatric Outpatient Satisfaction Scale. Results: The beneficiaries appear to be quite satisfied with the quality of services. Geographical zone, marital status of beneficiary, and type of facility are satisfaction-related factors. There are preferences for facilities located within the City Centre over those located elsewhere. There is also an interaction effect of the geographical zone and the type of facility in creating differences in satisfaction. Conclusions: A customer-friendly facility concept that emphasizes reception, physician interaction, and cordiality shall add value. Polyclinics require more attention as does the Al Slawy area. A few utility services might also be considered.Keywords: exit interviews; Health For All by All; geographic zone; administrative and environmental factors; health-seeking behavior; interaction effect; type and location of facility; place of residenc

Occult Pneumonia: An Unusual but Perilous Entity Presenting with Severe Malnutrition and Dehydrating Diarrhoea

A three-month old boy was admitted to the Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka, Bangladesh, with the problems of acute watery diarrhoea with some dehydration and suspected dyseletrolytaemia, severe malnutrition, and reduced activity. Occult pneumonia was added to the problem list after demonstration of radiologic consolidation in right upper lung, despite the lack of clinical signs, both on admission and after correction of dehydration. The problem list was further expanded to include bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureus when the blood culture report was available. Severely-malnourished children may not exhibit typical clinical signs of pneumonia, and the possibility of existence of such problems should be remembered in the assessment and provision of care to hospitalized young children with severe malnutrition

The effects of trimetazidine on lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative stress in mice

The effects of trimetazidine, a novel anti-ischemic agent, on the development of oxidative stress induced in mice with lipopolysaccharide endotoxin were investigated. The drug was administered orally once daily at doses of 1.8, 3.6 or 7.2 mg/kg for two days prior to intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of lipopolysaccharide E (200 μg/kg) and at time of endotoxin administration. Mice were euthanized 4 h after administration of the lipopolysaccharide. Lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde; MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide (nitrite/nitrate) concentrations were measured in brain and liver. The administration of lipopolysaccharide increased oxidative stress in both the brain and liver tissue. MDA increased by 33.9 and 107.1 %, GSH decreased by 23.9 and 84.3 % and nitric oxide increased 70.3 and 48.4 % in the brain and liver, respectively. Compared with the lipopolysaccharide control group, brain MDA decreased by 26.2 and 36.7 %, while GSH increased by 18.2 and 25.8 % after the administration of trimetazidine at 3.6 and 7.2 mg/kg, respectively. Brain nitric oxide decreased by 45.3, 50.8 and 57.0 % by trimetazidine at 1.8, 3.6 and 7.2 mg/kg, respectively. In the liver, MDA decreased by 18.7, 30.7 and 49.4 % and GSH increased by 150.3, 204.8 and 335.4 % following trimetazidine administration at 1.8, 3.6 and 7.2 mg/kg. Meanwhile, nitric oxide decreased by 17.3 % by 7.2 mg/kg of trimetazidine. These results indicate that administration of trimetazidine in the presence of mild systemic inflammatory response alleviates oxidative stress in the brain and liver

Recent advances in the Biosynthesis of Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles and their Biological Applications

أثار أكسيد الزركونيوم  ZrO2  اهتمام الباحثين في جميع أنحاء العالم، لا سيما منذ تطوير طرق لتصنيع جزيئات بحجم النانو. تم تحفيز الدراسة المكثفة في تكوين الجسيمات النانوية باستخدام تقنيات تركيبية مختلفة، بالإضافة إلى استخداماتها المحتملة، من خلال كفاءتها الضوئية العالية، وفجوة النطاق العريض، وطاقة ربط الأكسيتون العالية. في تغليف المواد الغذائية، يمكن استخدام الجسيمات النانوية لثاني أكسيد الزركونيوم كعوامل مضادة للميكروبات ومضادة للسرطان. استجابةً للاهتمام المتزايد بـ nano ZrO2 ، ابتكر الباحثون وطوروا طرقًا لتركيب الجسيمات النانوية. تم مؤخرًا إنشاء مركبات ZrO2 النانوية ذات الأشكال المختلفة باستخدام طرق بيولوجية ("الكيمياء الخضراء"). تساهم كل من الميكروبات والنباتات في إنتاج الزركونيا في المختبر. يتم توفير عوامل التثبيت بواسطة الجزيئات الحيوية الموجودة في المستخلصات النباتية، بينما يتم توفير الإنزيمات بواسطة الكائنات الحية الدقيقة كعوامل للتغطية والتثبيت (داخل الخلايا أو خارج الخلية). من الممكن تحليل الجسيمات النانوية المنتجة باستخدام مجموعة متنوعة من الأساليب التحليلية، بما في ذلك التحليل الطيفي للأشعة فوق البنفسجية المرئية، وحيود الأشعة السينية (XRD) ، والمجهر الإلكتروني للإرسال (TEM) ، والتحليل الطيفي للأشعة تحت الحمراء (FT-IR). عند تطبيقها على البكتيريا (موجبة الجرام وسالبة الجرام) والفطريات، تظهر ZrO2NPs قدرات واعدة مضادة للجراثيم. تعتبر الخلايا الطبيعية والخبيثة حساسة للجسيمات النانوية ZrO2 ، والتي يمكن تفسيرها من خلال توليد الأكسجين التفاعلي (ROS). يناقش هذا العمل ويصف الطرق العديدة لإنتاج جسيمات ZrO2 النانوية، بالإضافة إلى خصائصها وإمكانيات التطبيق المختلفة.A critical milestone in nano-biotechnology is establishing reliable and ecological friendly methods for fabricating metal oxide NPs. Because of their great biodegradable, electrical, mechanical, and optical qualities, zirconia NPs (ZrO2NPs) attract much interest among all zirconia NPs (ZrO2NPs). Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) has piqued the interest of researchers throughout the world, particularly since the development of methods for the manufacture of nano-sized particles. An extensive study into the creation of nanoparticles utilizing various synthetic techniques and their potential uses has been stimulated by their high luminous efficiency, wide bandgap, and high exciton binding energy. Zirconium dioxide nanoparticles may be used as antimicrobial and anticancer agents in food packaging. In response to the growing interest in nano ZrO2, researchers invented and developed methods for synthesizing nanoparticles. ZrO2 nanocomposites with various morphologies have recently been created using biological (green chemistry) methods. Microbes and plants both contribute to the production of zirconia in the laboratory. Capping and stabilizing agents are provided by the biomolecules found in plant extracts, whereas microorganisms provide enzymes as capping and stabilizing agents (intracellular or extracellular). It is possible to analyze the nanoparticles produced using a variety of analytical approaches, including ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). When applied to bacteria (both Gram-positive and Gram-negative) and fungi, ZrO2NPs show promising antibacterial capabilities. Normal and malignant cells are sensitive to ZrO2 nanoparticles, which can be explained by the generation of reactive oxygen (ROS). This work discusses and describes many ways of producing ZrO2 nanoparticles, their properties, and various application possibilities

Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase gene associated with Nicotine initiation and addiction: Analysis of novel regulatory features at 5' and 3'-Regions

© 2018 Aziz, Abdel-Salam, Al-Obaide, Alobydi and Al-Humaish. Tobacco smoking is widespread behavior in Qatar and worldwide and is considered one of the major preventable causes of ill health and death. Nicotine is part of tobacco smoke that causes numerous health risks and is incredibly addictive; it binds to the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in the brain. Recent studies showed α7nAChR involvement in the initiation and addiction of smoking. Kynurenic acid (KA), a significant tryptophan metabolite, is an antagonist of α7nAChR. Inhibition of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase enzyme encoded by KMO enhances the KA levels. Modulating KMO gene expression could be a useful tactic for the treatment of tobacco initiation and dependence. Since KMO regulation is still poorly understood, we aimed to investigate the 5' and 3'-regulatory factors of KMO gene to advance our knowledge to modulate KMO gene expression. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify the regulatory sequences associated with expression of KMO. The displayed differential expression of KMO mRNA in the same tissue and different tissues suggested the specific usage of the KMO multiple alternative promoters. Eleven KMO alternative promoters identified at 5'-regulatory region contain TATA-Box, lack CpG Island (CGI) and showed dinucleotide base-stacking energy values specific to transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs). The structural features of regulatory sequences can influence the transcription process and cell type-specific expression. The uncharacterized LOC105373233 locus coding for non-coding RNA (ncRNA) located on the reverse strand in a convergent manner at the 3'-side of KMO locus. The two genes likely expressed by a promoter that lacks TATA-Box harbor CGI and two TFBSs linked to the bidirectional transcription, the NRF1, and ZNF14 motifs. We identified two types of microRNA (miR) in the uncharacterized LOC105373233 ncRNA, which are like hsa-miR-5096 and hsa-miR-1285-3p and can target the miR recognition element (MRE) in the KMO mRNA. Pairwise sequence alignment identified 52 nucleotides sequence hosting MRE in the KMO 3' UTR untranslated region complementary to the ncRNA LOC105373233 sequence. We speculate that the identified miRs can modulate the KMO expression and together with alternative promoters at the 5'-regulatory region of KMO might contribute to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for tobacco smoking

Salovum Egg Yolk Containing Antisecretory Factor As an Adjunct Therapy in Severe Cholera in Adult Males: A Pilot Study

Cholera involves stimulation of intestinal secretory process in response to cholera toxin leading to profuse watery diarrhoea that might cause death due to dehydration unless timely rehydration therapy is initiated. Efforts to identify and test potential antisecretory agents are ongoing. Antisecretory factor (AF) is a naturally-occurring protein produced in the human secretory organs, including the intestine, with antisectory properties demonstrated in animal and human models of secretory diarrhoea. Salovum egg yolk powder contains proteins with antisecretory properties in a much higher (500 times) concentration than that of normal hen eggs. This is achieved by feeding hens with specially-processed cereals, capable of inducing proteins with antisecretory properties in the yolk. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of Salovum egg yolk powder containing AF in the treatment of adult cholera patients. In an open, randomized controlled trial (pilot study), 40 adult male patients with severe cholera were studied: 20 received standard treatment (oral rehydration solution, antibiotic, and usual hospital diet) plus Salovum egg yolk powder (study group) and 20 received standard treatment alone (control group). All the patients received tablet doxycycline (300 mg) once immediately after randomization. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject before enrollment. The main outcome measures were stool weight and duration of diarrhoea. The demographic and baseline clinical characteristics of the study patients were comparable between the groups. No significant differences were found in the mean stool weight, g/kg of body-weight during the first 24 hours [study vs control group, mean±standard deviation (SD), 218±119 vs 195±136], second 24 hours (mean±SD, 23±39 vs 22±34), and cumulative up to 72 hours (mean±SD, 245±152 vs 218±169). The duration (hours) of diarrhoea after admission in the hospital was also similar in both the groups (mean±SD, 33±14 vs 32±10). No adverse effect was observed. Salovum egg powder containing AF as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of severe cholera could not demonstrate any beneficial effect. Further studies with higher doses of Salovum egg yolk powder might be considered in future to establish its antisecretory effect

Oxidative status and the response to pegylated-interferon alpha2A plus ribavirin in chronic genotype 4 HCV hepatitis

Oxidative stress may play a pathogenic role in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The present study examined the oxidative status in plasma of patients with CHC who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy. The following groups were included: (1) sustained virological response (28 patients), (2) null response (26 patients), (3) breakthrough (24 patients), (4) relapse (24 patients), (5) spontaneous cure (23 patients) and (6) twenty five normal subjects as a control group. Markers of oxidative stress including plasma malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione, total antioxidant capacity and uric acid as well as serum ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time were studied. The study indicated significant decline in reduced glutathione and total antioxidant capacity and markedly elevated levels of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide in all groups compared with the controls. Null response group had the highest levels of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide. Nitric oxide was significantly higher in those with null response compared with all other groups and with control subjects. Uric acid was significantly higher in spontaneous cure group compared with all other groups and with the controls. We concluded that CHC patients had increased oxidative stress. The oxidative status in plasma of these patients was not changed by antiviral therapy. The study also showed an important contribution of nitric oxide in null response patients. High serum uric acid did not interfere with the response and/or did not predict the response to antiviral therapy

Sustainability and its Applications in the Urban Plans for the City of Sana'a (Evaluation Study)

تعد الاستدامة وتطبيقاتها وسيلة لتنظيم الحضارة والنشاط الإنساني، وإطاراً مناسباً للوصول إلى أرقى المستويات لحياة البشر في الحاضر والمستقبل بدون استنزاف الموارد الطبيعية وإلحاق الأذى بالبيئة. ومن أهم القضايا التي ينبغي الأخذ بها عند تخطيط المدن وإعداد المخططات العمرانية لها والتي تعمل على إيجاد التوازن في البيئة والاقتصاد والقيم الاجتماعية وإحدى أهم أدوات التنمية العمرانية المستدامة، وفي مدينة صنعاء يتم إعداد المخططات العمرانية المتبعة بطريقة لا تتفق مع مفاهيم الاستدامة وغير مبنية على أسس ومعايير تخطيطية مستدامة، وإعدادها غالباً يتم بالطرق التقليدية والتي تقوم بالتوزيع المكاني لاستخدامات الأرض المختلفة، وهذا بدوره يؤدي إلى التعامل مع الجوانب المختلفة للعمران بصورة مفككة وعدم اتباع الأسلوب الأمثل لإعداد مخططات عمرانية شاملة ومتكاملة. وقد ركز البحث على دراسة مفهوم وأسس الاستدامة واستراتيجياتها في التنمية العمرانية المستدامة، ومدى الاستفادة منها في إعداد المخططات العمرانية لمدينة صنعاء(أهمية البحث)، إذ تعاني المدينة من مشاكل عمرانية متعددة منها استنزاف الموارد الطبيعية وتدهور الأوضاع الاقتصادية، بالإضافة إلى عملية التوسع العمراني السريعة فيها وما يترتب عن ذلك من تأثيرات اجتماعية سلبية والتي ظهرت بسبب قصور مخططاتها العمرانية المعتمدة والتي لم تتعد كونها مخططات تنظم التوزيع المكاني والوظيفي لبعض استخدامات الأرض وفق معايير تقليدية ومحدودة وعدم الأخذ بمفهوم الاستدامة وتطبيقاتها في إعداد المخططات العمرانية (وهنا تكمن إشكالية البحث)، تسعى الدراسة إلى التطرق لأهم أسس واستراتيجيات الاستدامة في إعداد المخططات العمرانية للمدينة ومدى مطابقة ذلك على المخططات العمرانية لمدينة صنعاء، وللوصول إلى هذا الهدف اتبعت منهجية تعتمد على الجانب التحليلي والتحليل المقارن بين مؤشرات الاستدامة واستراتيجياتها في المخططات العمرانية، وانعكاسها على المخططات العمرانية لمدينة صنعاء والخروج بمجموعة من النتائج والتوصيات. الكلمات المفتاحية: الاستدامة، التخطيط العمراني المستدام، مدينة صنعاء، استخدامات الأرض.Sustainability and applications a way to organize civilization and human activity and an appropriate framework to reach the highest levels of human life in the present and the future without the depletion of natural resources and harming the environment and the most important issues that should be introduced at the city planning and preparation of architectural drawings have started working to find a balance in the environment, the economy and social values one of the most important sustainable urban development tools, and in the city of Sana'a are preparing urban plans in place in a manner not consistent with the sustainability and is based on the principles and criteria of planning sustainable concepts, preparation is often traditional methods which are based spatial distribution of the uses of the various land and this in turn leads to dealing with the various Urbanism aspects It is disjointed and do not follow the ideal method for the preparation of a comprehensive and integrated urban schemes. The research focused on the study of the concept and the foundations of sustainability, strategies for sustainable urban development and the extent to which the preparation of urban plans for the city of Sana'a (importance of research), as the city suffers from multiple urban problems such as depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of economic conditions in addition to the rapid urbanization in the process and the consequent negative social impacts that have emerged due to the lack of urban plans approved and which did not exceed being schemes governing the spatial and functional distribution of some land uses according to the traditional and limited standards and not to introduce the concept of sustainability and its applications in the preparation of urban plans (and here lies the problem of search), the study seeks to the most important bases covered sustainability and strategies in the development of urban plans of the city and the extent of matching on urban plans for the city of Sana'a, and to reach that goal followed a methodology based on the analytical side and comparative analysis between sustainability indicators and strategies in urban plans and impacts on urban plans for the city of Sana'a and out a set of findings and recommendations. Keywords: Sustainability, Sustainable urban planning, Sana’a city, Land uses