UTILITY OF PLACENTAL LEUCINE AMINOPEPTIDASE/OXYTOCINASE IN THE PREDICTION OF PRETERM DELIVERY IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH THREATENED PRETERM LABOR

Objective: The study objective was to assess the utility of placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP) marker for the prediction of delivery in patients presented with threatened preterm labor (TPL). Setting: This study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital in the period from March 2017 to June 2018. Type of Study: This is a prospective case control study. Methods: This study included 90 pregnant women with gestational age from (28-36+6) weeks; 45 of them who presented with preterm uterine contractions were considered as the study group which was further subdivided into three subgroups according to gestational age 28–31+6 weeks, 32– 33+6 weeks, and 34–36+6 weeks. The other 45 pregnant women who presented to the hospital for regular antenatal care visit at comparable gestational age to the study group were considered as the control group. Hence, this study aimed to assess the serum level of P-LAP in both groups and compare it between those delivered preterm from term to assess its applicability as a predictor of preterm labor. Results: Serum level of P-LAP in pregnant women presented with TPL was found to be significantly lower in those delivered preterm (p<0.001), compared to those continued to term and control group especially in gestational ages ≥32 weeks, while the study found P-LAP level to be statistically insignificant in gestational age <32 weeks (p=0.052). The cutoff point for P-LAP serum level was = 21 (IU/ml) that below it, the pregnant women with TPL most probably deliver before 37 weeks of gestation with Sensitivity (85.7%) Specificity (90.3%), Positive predictive value (80.0%) Negative predictive (93.3%). Conclusion: The serum level of P-LAP was lower in women delivered preterm than those delivered at term, so it can be used as one of the markers for the prediction of preterm delivery, especially at gestational age >32 weeks

Synthesis and characterization of hyperbranched poly(urea-urethane)s

The thesis aims to synthesize hyperbranched poly(urea-urethane) polymers (HPU) in one-pot method using commercially available monomers which are 2,4-toluylene diisocyanate (TDI) as aromatic diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and 2(3-isocyanatopropyl) cyclohexylisocyanate (IPCI) as aliphatic diisocyanates. Those proposed diisocyanates were reacted with diethanolamine (DEA) or diisopropanolamine (DIPA). Conditions of polymerisation reactions were optimised. Complete structural analysis using 1H and 13C NMR for the obtained aromatic polymers was carried out. Degree of branching up to 70% was calculated. Aliphatic polymers have spectra with overlapped signals therefore, no full structural analysis was possible. Molar masses were determined using SEC/RI detector which shows that the prepared polymers have Mw values between 1600 g/mol and 106000 g/mol. Thermal analysis for different polymer systems showed that aliphatic HPU are more thermally stable and have values of glass transition temperature higher than aromatic ones. Modification of the end groups in the prepared hyperbranched polymers was carried out using three different modifiers and degree of modification up to 100%. Linear polymers based on the same diisocyanate monomers were prepared to compare the properties of hyperbranched systems with their linear analogs. Measurements of solution viscosity showed that HPU have lower solution viscosity values than their linear analogs of comparable molar masses. Rheological measurement of some polymer samples of different systems were carried out and showed that our hyperbranched systems exhibit a more elastic behavior than the linear polymers. Surface studies for thin films prepared from different polymer systems (hyperbranched, linear and modified) were carried out and the obtained thin films were characterized using light microscope, microglider, GC-MS, and AFM. Contact angle measurements showed that HPU have a relatively hydrophilic character. The modified polymers have higher contact angle values than the unmodified ones due to the lack of OH end groups. Networks based on aliphatic and aromatic HPU were prepared through the reaction of HPU with trimer of 1,6-diisocyanatohexane and characterised by DSC, GC-MS, DMA and AFM. The domain size in aromatic networks was found to be larger than in aliphatic networks. Tensile test was carried out and it was found that aliphatic network is more elastic than aromatic one

A case study of Rahad Agricultural Scheme

تعتمد التنمية في السودان على القطاع الزراعي، ويتركز الإنتاج الزراعي بصورة رئيسة في المناطق الريفية بالإضافة إلى ولاية الخرطوم التي تمثل العاصمة القومية للسودان. ويمثل مشروع الرهد الزراعي أيضا احد المشاريع الهامة التي تنتج القطن بصورة رئيسية إضافة إلى بعض المحصولات الأخرى (حقلية، بستانية، ومحاصيل اعلاف....الخ). الهدف الرئيس من هذه الدراسة هو معرفة إلى أي مدى اثر المشروع (ايجابيا أو/ وسلبيا)على المنطقة. إضافة إلى دراسة بعض الاوضاع الاقتصادية الاجتماعية، وبعض العوامل التي تؤثر على انتاج بعض المحاصيل الحقلية كالقطن والذرة والفول السوداني. اعتمدت الدراسة على مسح ميداني تم اجراؤه بمنطقة مشروع الرهد الزراعي (الفاو) في يوليو 2005م، وتم تصميم استبانة لجمع المعلومات من عينة مختارة من المزارعين في منطقة الدراسة باستعمال وسيلة العينة الطبقية العشوائية، ودعمت بمعلومات ثانوية من مصادر ذات صلة، وأخضعت المعلومات لتحليل احصائي وصفي وتحليل ارتدادي للتعرف على العوامل التي تؤثر على انتاج تلك المحاصيل الحقلية سابقة الذكر. اظهرت نتائج التحليل الوصفي نوعين من التأثيرات: 1. تأثيرات ايجابية مثل تحسين الاوضاع الاقتصادية والخدمات الاجتماعية كالتعليم، الصحة، مياه الشرب، الخدمات البيطرية وصحة الحيوان....الخ. 2. تأثيرات سلبية كتدهور كثير من الموارد الطبيعية الموجودة اصلا في المنطقة مثل الغابات الطبيعية والمراعي الطبيعية والحياة البرية. إضافة إلى تدهور البيئة الطبيعية مما أدى إلى تلوث الهواء الجوي والمياه واضر بصحة الإنسان والحيوان في المنطقة. تدهورت أيضا البيئة الصحية وظهرت الكثير من الأمراض التي لم تكن معروفة في المنطقة قبل قيام المشروع كاالملاريا الخبيثة، التيفويد، الحساسيات المختلفة، البلهارسيا، ومرض السرطان.....الخ. كما اظهرت نتائج التحليل الارتدادي أن عائدات القطن والذرة والفول السوداني، إضافة إلى تكاليف انتاج القطن، المساحة المزروعة من القطن، وتكاليف عمالة القطن هي اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج القطن، اظهر التحليل الارتدادي أيضا لإنتاج محصول الذرة أن تكاليف انتاج القطن والذرة وتكاليف عمالة الذرة هي اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج الذرة في المشروع، في حين أن اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج الفول السوداني في المشروع هي تكاليف انتاج القطن والفول السوداني، عائدات الفول السوداني وتكاليف عمالته. وللحصول على التنمية المستدامة في المشروعات التنموية بصورة عامة والزراعية بصورة خاصة فقد توصلت الدراسة إلى عدة توصيات من اهمها: • الاهتمام بدراسات الجدوى البيئية قبل البدء في اقامة أي مشروع تنموي. • دعم وتشجيع البحوث العلمية في المجالات المختلفة للتنمية المستدامة والمحافظة على البيئة لا سيما في المشاريع الزراعية

Doubling the Number of Connected Devices in Narrow-band Internet of Things while Maintaining System Performance: An STC-based Approach

Narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) method that was first launched by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Rel- 13 with the purpose of enabling low-cost, low-power and wide-area cellular connection for the Internet of Things (IoT). As the demand for over-the-air services grows and with the number of linked wireless devices reaching 100 billion, wireless spectrum is becoming scarce, necessitating creative techniques that can increase the number of connected devices within a restricted spectral resource in order to satisfy service needs. Consequently, it is vital that academics develop efficient solutions to fulfill the quality of service (QoS) criteria of the NB-IoT in the context of 5th generation (5G) and beyond. This study paves the way for 5G networks and beyond to have increased capacity and data rate for NB-IoT. Whereas, this article suggests a method for increasing the number of connected devices by using a technique known as symbol time compression (STC). The suggested method compresses the occupied bandwidth of each device without increasing complexity, losing data throughput or bit error rate (BER) performance. The STC approach is proposed in the literature to work with the conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to reduce bandwidth usage by 50% and improve the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Specifically, An STC-based method is proposed that exploits the unused bandwidth to double the number of connected devices while keeping system performance and complexity. Furthermore, the {\mu}-law companding technique is leveraged to reduce the PAPR of the transmitted signals. The obtained simulation results reveal that the proposed approach using the {\mu}-law companding technique increases the transmitted data by twice and reduces the PAPR by 3.22 dB while maintaining the same complexity and BER

Using Board Games Activities in Developing Iraqi EFL Preparatory School Students' Performance in Reading Skills

Learning a second language can be challenging and demanding, especially for teachers, as they are required to continuously innovate and improve their teaching by integrating new strategies and techniques into the classroom environment. Hence, the present study intents to examine the effect of board games  activities on Iraqi Preparatory school students’ reading skills. A quantitative research method is adopted, and a sample of (30) preparatory school students is randomly chosen to exemplify the two sets of the research (the control and experimental groups). The study adopts a pre-test post-test design to measure the influence of the strategy. The first hypothesis is accepted, and the researcher concluded that indeed board games  activities help in developing the students’ reading skills; however, other studies could concur or find different results

The Effect of Developmentally Supportive Care Training Program on Nurses' Performance and Behavioral Responses of Newborn Infants

Developmental care is a strategy used in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to help reduce the amount of stress that a newborn infant is exposed to. Developmental care helps NICUs to be more "baby friendly”. The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of developmentally supportive care training program on nurses' performance during tub bath provided for neonates in NICU, and to explore the effect of developmentally supportive care training program on behavioral responses of newborn infants during tub bath in NICU. The study adopts a quasi-experimental research design.  The study was conducted in the NICU at Benha Specialized Pediatric Hospital. The data were collected using structured interview sheet, newborn assessment sheet, Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale developed by Brazleton and Nugent (1973) and an observational checklist to evaluate the nurses’ performance during tub bath. Apparently, the study results evident that there was highly statistically significance differences between the means of the total scores of nurses’ performance regarding tub bath for newborn infants before and after application of developmentally supportive care program (DSC). Moreover, the means of NBAS items were all significantly improved among newborn infants and they exhibited less stress and greater comfort during tub bath after application of DSC program. The study recommended that collaboration and continuing education of the staff in the NICU are vital to improve the quality of care provided for newborn infants. Keywords: Developmentally supportive care-Nurses’ performance- Behavioral responses of neonate

Secured Mechanism Towards Integrity of Digital Images Using DWT, DCT, LSB and Watermarking Integrations

"Watermarking" is one method in which digital information is buried in a carrier signal; the hidden information should be related to the carrier signal. There are many different types of digital watermarking, including traditional watermarking that uses visible media (such as snaps, images, or video), and a signal may be carrying many watermarks. Any signal that can tolerate noise, such as audio, video, or picture data, can have a digital watermark implanted in it. A digital watermark must be able to withstand changes that can be made to the carrier signal in order to protect copyright information in media files. The goal of digital watermarking is to ensure the integrity of data, whereas steganography focuses on making information undetectable to humans. Watermarking doesn't alter the original digital image, unlike public-key encryption, but rather creates a new one with embedded secured aspects for integrity. There are no residual effects of encryption on decrypted documents. This work focuses on strong digital image watermarking algorithms for copyright protection purposes. Watermarks of various sorts and uses were discussed, as well as a review of current watermarking techniques and assaults. The project shows how to watermark an image in the frequency domain using DCT and DWT, as well as in the spatial domain using the LSB approach. When it comes to noise and compression, frequency-domain approaches are far more resilient than LSB. All of these scenarios necessitate the use of the original picture to remove the watermark. Out of the three, the DWT approach has provided the best results. We can improve the resilience of our watermark while having little to no extra influence on image quality by embedding watermarks in these places.

Self-medication with antibiotics in Sana’a City, Yemen

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics in Sana’a City, Yemen and its associated risk factors.Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and distributed among consumers attending community pharmacies in Sana’a city, Yemen. Chi-square test was used to identify the risk factors associated with self-medication with antibiotics.Results: The prevalence of antibiotics use during self-medication was 87.1 % (58.2 % of males and 41.8 % of females). Among all respondents, only 49.5 % were aware of bacterial resistance due to antibiotic use. The majority of illness/symptoms treated with antibiotics during self-medication were common cold, cough, diarrhea and fever. The high cost of physician consultation was the main reason for self-medication with antibiotics. The most common source of information was community drug dispensers. Although different factors were assessed, no association could be found between factors like age, gender, material status, educational status, employment, monthly income or knowledge regarding bacterial resistance and self-medication with antibiotics.Conclusion: Self-medication with antibiotics is high among consumers in Sana’a City, Yemen.Keywords: Self-medication, Antibiotics, Community pharmacies, Sana’a City, Yeme

Role of Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing in Diaphyseal Fractures in Children

Background: All femoral or tibial fractures regardless of associated injuries, intramedullary nailing (IMN) has its more advantages in rapid rehabilitation, good effects on the child and his family and strong fixation. Objective: To assess the role of elastic stable IMN in union of diaphyseal fractures of long bones in children. Patients and Methods: A prospective and retrospective analytical study on ten children with isolated femoral or tibial fractures who were admitted to Orthopedic Department, Zagazig University Hospitals. They were divided equally into group I that included 5 patients with femoral shaft fracture managed with IMN and group II, which included 5 patients with tibial shaft fracture managed with IMN. Their mean age was 4.7 years old. Results: When the groups compared, the spica cast group was found to have a shorter duration of hospital stay compared to elastic nail group. The knee range of motion of the spica cast group was found to be better compared to the elastic nailing group. The elastic nailing group was found to have started walking earlier both with and without support. Patients with intramedullary nailing started to walk with aid after one month and  independently after 2 weeks. Patients with spica cast started to walk with aid after 2 months and independently after 12 weeks. Conclusion: None of the available treatment tools to fix diaphyseal long bones fractures in preschool children is perfect because each method has its own set of complications. However, constitute the motive for developing new techniques or changing the design of currently available devices