Room temperature self-assembly of mixed nanoparticles into complex material systems and devices

The ability to manufacture nanomaterials with complex and structured composition using otherwise incompatible materials increasingly underpins the next generation of technologies. This is translating into growing efforts integrating a wider range of materials onto key technology platforms1 - in photonics, one such platform is silica, a passive, low loss and robust medium crucial for efficient optical transport2. Active functionalisation, either through added gain or nonlinearity, is mostly possible through the integration of active materials3, 4. The high temperatures used in manufacturing of silica waveguides, unfortunately, make it impossible to presently integrate many organic and inorganic species critical to achieving this extended functionality. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of novel waveguides and devices made up of complex silica based materials using the self-assembly of nanoparticles. In particular, the room temperature fabrication of silica microwires integrated with organic dyes (Rhodamine B) and single photon emitting nanodiamonds is presented.Comment: Key words: nanotechnology, nanoparticles, self-assembly, quantum science, singel photon emitters, telecommunications, sensing, new materials, integration of incompatible materials, silica, glass, breakthrough scienc

Associated Factors of Low Back Pain in a Sample of Patients Attending Hawler Teaching Hospital/Erbil City A Case Control Group

الخلاصة الخلفية والهدف: آلام أسفل الظهر هو مشكلة سريرية, اجتماعية واقتصادية هامة وهو بالتأكيد مشكلة صحية عامة تؤثر على الانسان بطريقة متقطعة وبشكل عشوائي.  الهدف من هذه الدراسة هو تحديد العوامل المرتبطة بآلام أسفل الظهر بين المرضى الذين يراجعون قسم العلاج الطبيعي في مستشفى هولير التعليمي في مدينة أربيل بهدف العلاج. الطريقة والمنهاج: أجريت الدراسة  واستمرت لعام كامل  بدءا من ال 3 من شهر تشرين الثاني 2014 إلى ال 3 من شهر تشرين الثاني من 2015. وشملت الدراسة 100 حالة تم تشخيصها  بآلام أسفل الظهر في قسم العلاج الطبيعي في مستشفى هولير التعليمي  مع عدد مماثل من الاشخاص الاصحاء لا يعانون من نفس المشكلة  كمجموعة ضابطة و مراعاة  التطابق في العمر والجنس لكلا المجموعتين. النتائج: اظهرت نتائج التحليل الاحصائي للانحدار المنطقي المتعدد للعوامل المرتبطة بالام اسفل الظهر ان مؤشر كتلة الجسم7.55, عدم استخدام دعم المنطقة القطنية في حالة الجلوس31.81, عدم ممارسة الرياضة 5.58,  الوقوف بشكل منتصب 34.836, الجلوس على الكرسي بمسند عالي للظهر 27.986, والجلوس على الكرسي  بمسند منخفض للظهر 65.167, عدم شرب كمية كافية من الماء يوميا 18.989, التوتر النفسي والعاطفي 14.636 مرة لها تأثير الخطورة على الاصابة بالام اسفل الظهر بشكل متوالي لكل عامل. الاستنتاجات: توصلت الدراسة الى ان معظم المشاركين في البحث هم من الموظفين و اصحاب الاعمال و هم  يؤدون اوضاع مختلفة اثناء العمل مثل: الانحناء, جلوس القرفصاء والجلوس اثناء العمل لفترات طويلة. واكد ان هناك ارتباط ذات دلالات احصائية عالية بين مؤشر كتلة الجسم, رفع الاشياء الثقيلة, قيادة السيارات والتوترات العاطفية والنفسية و بين تطور حالات الام اسفل الظهر.Background and objective: Low back pain (LBP) is an important clinical, social, economic, and public health problem affecting the population erratically and random. The aim of the study was to determine the factors associated with low back pain among patients attending physiotherapy department at Hawler teaching hospital in Erbil City. Methods: the study was carried out from November 3rd, 2014 to November 3rd 2015. The study involved of 100 cases diagnosed with low back pain in the physiotherapy depart- ment at Hawler teaching hospital subjects in control group are of the same age and gender of those in the experiment group , and 100 participants as a 100 as control group free from low back pain. Result: Multiple logistic regression of risk factors of low back pain revealed that body mass index7.55 , non using lumbar support in sitting chair during work31.81, non-practice exercise 5.58, standing erect 34.836, sitting on a high backrest chair 27.986, sitting on a low backrest chair 65.167, drinking water per day 18.989, emotional stress 14.636 time have risky effect on low back affect low back pain respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that most of the participants in the study were employers and they perform different types of positions such as bending, squatting and sitting during work time, there were statistical significant association between body mass index, lifting heavy objects, driving and emotional stress with development of low back pai

Facilitating prosociality through technology: Design to promote digital volunteerism

Volunteerism covers many activities involving no financial rewards for volunteers but which contribute to the common good. There is existing work in designing technology for volunteerism in HumanComputer Interaction (HCI) and related disciplines that focuses on motivation to improve performance, but it does not account for volunteer wellbeing. Here, I investigate digital volunteerism in three case studies with a focus on volunteer motivation, engagement, and wellbeing. My research involved volunteers and others in the volunteering context to generate recommendations for a volunteer-centric design for digital volunteerism. The thesis has three aims: 1. To investigate motivational aspects critical for enhancing digital volunteers’ experiences 2. To identify digital platform attributes linked to volunteer wellbeing 3. To create guidelines for effectively supporting volunteer engagement in digital volunteering platforms In the first case study I investigate the design of a chat widget for volunteers working in an organisation with a view to develop a design that improves their workflow and wellbeing. The second case study investigates the needs, motivations, and wellbeing of volunteers who help medical students improve their medical communication skills. An initial mixed-methods study was followed by an experiment comparing two design strategies to improve volunteer relatedness; an important indicator of wellbeing. The third case study looks into volunteer needs, experiences, motivations, and wellbeing with a focus on volunteer identity and meaning-making on a science-based research platform. I then analyse my findings from these case studies using the lens of care ethics to derive critical insights for design. The key contributions of this thesis are design strategies and critical insights, and a volunteer-centric design framework to enhance the motivation, wellbeing and engagement of digital volunteers

The role of AMO HR practices and knowledge sharing in developing a learning organizational culture:Evidence from the United Kingdom

Purpose: This study aims to explore how the three types of human resource (HR) practices, encapsulated in the ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) model, foster a learning organizational culture (LOC). In doing so, the authors evaluate the centrality of knowledge sharing (KS) in mediating this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey is undertaken to collect data from managers working in organizations operating in the UK. The authors use several statistical techniques to assess the psychometric properties of the measures and test the hypotheses using multiple regression executed with Preacher and Hayes’ Process macro. Findings: The findings show that the AMO HR practices significantly facilitate the development of a LOC in the workplace, and KS among organizational members amplifies the effects of these HR practices in the process. Originality/value: A LOC functions as an important source of organizational performance and effectiveness. It enhances the absorptive capacity of the organization to capture, share and transfer knowledge to optimize work. Hence, developing a culture that nurtures organizational learning could be a priority for managing HR. This study, therefore, extends the understanding of the role of AMO HR practices in fostering a learning culture – thus, providing managers with the essential knowledge to improve performance. The study also enriches the literature on HR practices, KS and LOC by integrating these three variables into a unifying framework.</p

A qualitative investigation into the lived experiences of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease which afflicts a large number of people all over the world and causes numerous complications to the patients and decreases the quality of their lives. The present study was carried out in order to investigate the lived experiences of patients with T2DM.METHODS: The present study was carried out by a qualitative method. To collect the required data, in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with 10 patients with T2DM who referred to Bli Hospital in Mergasour District, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in 2018. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Van Manen’s (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological method, and the themes were retrieved.RESULTS: Based on the results of analyzing the interviews, it was seen that the patients referred to DM as a disease that cannot be treated, which was labelled as “incurable disease”. They also referred to the fact that DM had made their life very hard, which was labelled as “difficult life”. Moreover, they stated that DM was a silent killer, which was labelled as “silent disease”. Finally, they referred to taking insulin shot as addictive, which was referred to as “problem with taking insulin”.CONCLUSION: According to the results, the patients’ lived experiences were interpreted as incurable disease, difficult life, and silent disease, which requires social and individual support to be tackled. Moreover, alternative medicines should be figured out because insulin injection was referred to as addictive. The results of the present study can be utilized by clinical trials focusing on treating and helping patients with T2DM and enhancing the quality of their lives.

Bacterial Profile and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Isolates Recovered from Lower Respiratory Tract Infection for Patients in Rizgary Hospital, Erbil

Recognition of etiologies of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) may help in delivering effective treatment options and circumvent emergence of antibiotic resistance. This study was carried out to uncover bacterial profile and antibiotic sensitivity patterns among 310 LRTI patients attended Rizagary Hospital between January 2014 to December 2016. Standard laboratory techniques were applied in collecting, processing, and culturing sputum and bronchial wash specimens. VITEK® 2 compact systems were used to identify bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Results showed that Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were the most abundant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (GPB &amp; GNB), respectively, isolated from sputum specimens. From bronchial wash specimens, only GNB were detected and Serratia marcescens was the most abundant one. Antibiotic sensitivity tests revealed that Streptococcus parasanguinis was the most resistant GPB and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most resistant GNB. Sputum recovered GPB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Erythromycin, Levofloxacin, Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole, and Tetracycline. Bronchial wash recovered GNB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Minocycline, Pefloxacin, Piperacillin, and Ticarcillin. In conclusion, LRTIs are mainly associated with GNB rather than GPB. The recovered Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were found to be multidrug-resistant pathogens. Ampicillin was ineffective against any of recovered pathogenic bacteria

Hydrocarbon Potential of the Middle–Late Jurassic Series of Northwestern Iraq: A Case Study in the Shaikhan Oil Field

The Middle–Late Jurassic Sargelu, Naokelekan, and Barsarin formations of northwestern Iraq have been investigated in the Shaikhan oilfield (well Shaikhan-8) to assess their potential for hydrocarbon generation.The results of total organic carbon analysis and rock-eval pyrolysis revealed a good-to-excellent hydrocarbon content and suggest that the depositional conditions were suitable for the production and preservation of organic matter. The thermal maturity proxy indicates that the studied formations were at the start of the hydrocarbon generation period. Most of the samples from the Sargelu and Barsarin formations belong to kerogen type II, whereas those of the Naokelekan Formation belong to kerogen type II/III.&nbsp;The Pr/Ph, Pr/n-C17, and Ph/n-C18 ratios of the extracted bitumen indicated that the organic matter originated from marine sources under reducing conditions. The stable carbon isotope composition of the saturated and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions ranged from –28.3 to –27.7 ‰ and –28.0 to –27.7 ‰, respectively. The biomarker results show a high contribution of marine organic matter that was preserved under relatively anoxic conditions. The profiles of the burial and thermal maturity history show that the simulated generation zones, based on the calculated vitrinite reflectance, indicate immature (0.44%–0.6%)-to-early oil generating (0.6%–0.75%) source rock. The low thermal maturity of the studied formations relative to the depth may be attributed to the low geothermal gradient and heat flow

Measurement of Fluorescence in a Rhodamine-123 Doped Self-Assembled “Giant” Mesostructured Silica Sphere Using a Smartphone as Optical Hardware

The blue OLED emission from a mobile phone was characterised, revealing a sharp emission band centred at λ = 445 nm with a 3dB bandwidth Δλ ∼ 20 nm. It was used to excite Rhodamine 123 doped within a “giant” mesostructured silica sphere during fabrication through evaporative self-assembly of silica nanoparticles. Fluorescence was able to be detected using a standard optical microscope fitted with a green transmission pass filter and cooled CCD and with 1 ms exposure time demonstrating the potential of mobile platforms as the basis for portable diagnostics in the field