Factors Affect Students Achievement in Their Examinations

This study investigates the factors which affect the students' achievement in their examinations, mainly test anxiety. The effect of this anxiety was traced among Arab learners of English as a Foreign Language. The researcher used a questionnaire in order to get the necessary data about this psychological phenomenon. Data analysis was used to indicate that test anxiety is a natural psychological phenomenon that occurs due to lack of readiness or because of getting poor marks or grades. Moreover frantic reviews just before the test are more confusing methods than helpful ones. Students can reduce test anxiety through study habits and skills. Some recommendations were given to reduce these causes of anxiety

Insulin, estradiol levels and body mass index in pre- and post-menopausal women with breast cancer

AbstractBreast cancer is the most common cancer among women where it is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between insulin, estradiol levels and body mass index (BMI) as risk factors for breast cancer. Methods: 80 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer stage I–III invasive breast cancer, were selected randomly and divided in two groups: 40 pre-menopausal aged 26–46 years and 40 post-menopausal aged 52–90 years. Radioimmunoassay used for serum insulin levels measurement, ELISA was used for estradiol levels and BMI calculated by weight (kg)/height (m2). Results: Insulin levels in premenopausal (16.6 ± 10.5) and postmenopausal (17.9 ± 8.8); breast cancer patients showed increasing pattern from the normal levels (4.0–16.0 μIU/ml). While, the levels of estradiol in premenopausal (233 ± 173) and postmenopausal, (549 ± 468); estradiol level in postmenopausal was higher than normal level (50–300 ng/ml), its level showed significantly increase in postmenopausal breast cancer (P.Value = 0.001). Conclusion: Insulin levels increased in pre- and post-menopausal breast cancer patients while estradiol levels do not showed association with premenopausal breast cancer. High BMI, high insulin and estradiol levels in post-menopausal women may be considered as risk factors for breast cancer

Unique Mitochondrial Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Demonstrate Resolution Potential to Discriminate Theileria parva Vaccine and Buffalo-Derived Strains

Distinct pathogenic and epidemiological features underlie different Theileria parva strains resulting in different clinical manifestations of East Coast Fever and Corridor Disease in susceptible cattle. Unclear delineation of these strains limits the control of these diseases in endemic areas. Hence, an accurate characterization of strains can improve the treatment and prevention approaches as well as investigate their origin. Here, we describe a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on 13 near-complete mitogenomes of T. parva strains originating from East and Southern Africa, including the live vaccine stock strains. We identified 11 SNPs that are non-preferentially distributed within the coding and non-coding regions, all of which are synonymous except for two within the cytochrome b gene of buffalo-derived strains. Our analysis ascertains haplotype-specific mutations that segregate the different vaccine and the buffalo-derived strains except T. parva-Muguga and Serengeti-transformed strains suggesting a shared lineage between the latter two vaccine strains. Phylogenetic analyses including the mitogenomes of other Theileria species: T. annulata, T. taurotragi, and T. lestoquardi, with the latter two sequenced in this study for the first time, were congruent with nuclear-encoded genes. Importantly, we describe seven T. parva haplotypes characterized by synonymous SNPs and parsimony-informative characters with the other three transforming species mitogenomes. We anticipate that tracking T. parva mitochondrial haplotypes from this study will provide insight into the parasite’s epidemiological dynamics and underpin current control efforts

Effect of Water Harvesting Techniqueson Soil Properties in the South Omdurman Area- Sudan

Abstract%253A This study was conducted at Khartoum New International Airport, South Omdurman area, Khartoum State, Sudan. A complete randomized block design was followed to study the effect of Holes and Crescents water harvesting techniques on the soil moisture content soil sample were taken prior and immediately after rains and at three weeks intervals. The results indicated that the Holes and Crescents water harvesting techniques affected positively some soil physical properties especially at the upper soil layer (0 ndash%253B 30 cm) which was subjected to excavation by a loader. These soil properties included porosity, field capacity and infiltration rate as they have direct influence on the soil moisture content. The Holes water harvesting techniques showed an increase of 15%25 in soil moisture content resulting in better improvement of the soil physical properties as compared to the Crescents water harvesting techniques, hence the farmer techniques recommended for adoptio

Detection of Chikunguny a virus by RT-LAMP

Background A single-tube one-step real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for rapid detection of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) targeting the conserved 6K-E1 target region was developed. The assay was validated with sera collected from a CHIKV outbreak in Senegal in 2015. Methodology/Principal findings A novel design approach by combining Principal Component Analysis and phylogenetic analysis of 110 available CHIKV sequences and the LAMP oligonucleotide design software LAVA was used. The assay was evaluated with an External Quality Assessment panel from the European Network for Diagnostics of "Imported" Viral Diseases and was shown to be sensitive and specific and did not cross-detect other arboviruses. The limit of detection as determined by probit analysis, was 163 molecules, and 100% reproducibility in the assays was obtained for 103 molecules (7/8 repetitions were positive for 102 molecules). The assay was validated using 35 RNA samples extracted from sera, and results were compared with those obtained by quantitative RT-PCR carried out at the Institut Pasteur Dakar, demonstrating that the RT-LAMP is 100% sensitive and 80% specific, with a positive predictive value of 97% and negative predictive value of 100%. Conclusions/Significance The RT-LAMP appeared to show superior performance with material stored for months compared to qRT-PCR and can be therefore recommended for use in infrastructures with poor settings

Multiplex Mediator Displacement Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification for Detection of Treponema pallidum and Haemophilus ducreyi.

Yaws, a neglected tropical disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, manifests as ulcerative skin lesions. Nucleic acid amplification tests, like loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), are versatile tools to distinguish yaws from infections that cause similar skin lesions, primarily Haemophilus ducreyi. We developed a novel molecular test to simultaneously detect T. pallidum and H. ducreyi based on mediator displacement LAMP. We validated the T. pallidum and H. ducreyi LAMP (TPHD-LAMP) by testing 293 clinical samples from patients with yaws-like lesions. Compared with quantitative PCR, the TPHD-LAMP demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for T. pallidum (84.7% sensitivity, 95.7% specificity) and H. ducreyi (91.6% sensitivity, 84.8% specificity). This novel assay provided rapid molecular confirmation of T. pallidum and H. ducreyi DNA and might be suitable for use at the point of care. TPHD-LAMP could support yaws eradication by improving access to molecular diagnostic tests at the district hospital level

Fruit and vegetable consumption and cardiovascular diseases among jordanians: A case-control study

Objectives: Fruit and vegetable intake has been reported as one of the significant protective factors against the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to assess the possible preventive effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on developing CVD. Methods: A total of 398 participants (205 cases and 193 controls) referred for elective coronary angiography with clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease to Prince Hamza Hospital in Amman were enrolled in this case-control study. Dietary data were collected separately from each patient using interview-based food frequency questionnaire. Results: The findings of the present study revealed that a total consumption of 3 servings of vegetable per day decreased significantly the risk of CVD to about 54% (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.22-0.97, p = 0.033). Consumption of banana was found to reduce the risk of CVD to about 44% and 62% when consuming 1-2 and 3-6 servings/week, respectively, with p-value for trend 0.004. For the vegetables, the consumption of grape leaves and stuffed vegetables in general was significantly associated with lower risk of CVD. Increasing cauliflower consumption of 1-2 servings per week decreased CVD risk to about 37% (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.38-0.98). Consuming up to 3-6 servings per week of mixed vegetables (OR = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01-0.83) and onion (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.22-0.80) revealed an inverse association with CVD development. Conclusions: Adding to the present evidence, consumption of some fruits and vegetables could be considered as preventive factor against developing CVD. However, the association of consuming vegetables with preventing CVD was higher than the fruit consumption. 2020, Czech National Institute of Public Health. All rights reserved.Scopu

Waste derived biocomposite for simultaneous biosorption of organic matter and nutrients from green straw biorefinery effluent in continuous mode activated sludge systems

The conventional disposal of green straws through burning can be eliminated in a biorefinery that converts them into a range of sustainable commercial products. However, this leads to the generation of green straw biorefinery effluent (GSBE). Green straw biorefineries discharge wastewater into the ecosystem that contains high concentrations of COD and NH4+−N. It is one of the most notable sources of visual pollution and disruption of aquatic life as well as public health that requires treatment prior to discharge. To improve the GSBE quality for environmental sustainability, the attainment of sustainable development goals 6, 9, and 14, "clean water and sanitation", "inorganic and organic waste utilization for added values from material", and "life below water" is very important. Therefore, the effectiveness of the continuous mode activated sludge (CMAS) system and the biocomposite-based–continuous mode activated sludge (SB-CMAS) system in the treatment of GSBE was investigated in this study. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the process variables. At their optimized conditions, the performances of CMAS and SB-CMAS were analyzed in terms of COD and NH4+−N. Findings showed 81.21% and 95.50% COD and 78.31% and 87.34% NH4+−N reduction in concentration for CMAS and SB-CMAS, respectively. The high COD and NH4+−N removal efficiencies indicate the better performance of CMAS and SB-CMAS. The first- and second-order models and the modified Stover–Kincannon biokinetic models were utilized to analyze substrate removal rates. It was discovered that the modified Stover models were ideal for the measured data with R2 values 0.99646 and 0.91236 attained for COD and NH4+−N, respectively, in CMAS. The SB-CMAS had 0.99932 and 0.99533 for COD and NH4+−N, respectively. Maximum contaminant elimination was attained at 60% GSBE and 2-day HRT. Thus, to achieve the UN SDGs for 2030, findings from this study have the potential to answer goals 6, 9, and 14

Detection of each DENV serotype by RT-LAMP

Background 4 one-step, real-time, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays were developed for the detection of dengue virus (DENV) serotypes by considering 2,056 full genome DENV sequences. DENV1 and DENV2 RT-LAMP assays were validated with 31 blood and 11 serum samples from Tanzania, Senegal, Sudan and Mauritania. DENV3 and DENV4 RT-LAMP assays were validated with 25 serum samples from Cambodia Methodology/Principal findings 4 final reaction primer mixes were obtained by using a combination of Principal Component Analysis of the full DENV genome sequences, and LAMP primer design based on sequence alignments using the LAVA software. These mixes contained 14 (DENV1), 12 (DENV2), 8 (DENV3) and 3 (DENV4) LAMP primer sets. The assays were evaluated with an External Quality Assessment panel from Quality Control for Molecular Diagnostics. The assays were serotype-specific and did not cross-detect with other flaviviruses. The limits of detection, with 95% probability, were 22 (DENV1), 542 (DENV2), 197 (DENV3) and 641 (DENV4) RNA molecules, and 100% reproducibility in the assays was obtained with up to 102 (DENV1) and 103 RNA molecules (DENV2, DENV3 and DENV4). Validation of the DENV2 assay with blood samples from Tanzania resulted in 23 samples detected by RT-LAMP, demonstrating that the assay is 100% specific and 95.8% sensitive (positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 85.7%). All serum samples from Senegal, Sudan and Mauritania were detected and 3 untyped as DENV1. The sensitivity of RT-LAMP for DENV4 samples from Cambodia did not quite match qRT-PCR. Conclusions/Significance We have shown a novel approach to design LAMP primers that makes use of fast growing sequence databases. The DENV1 and DENV2 assays were validated with viral RNA extracted clinical samples, showing very good performance parameters