The Role of the Educational Counselor in the Use of Educational Technology During the Corona Pandemic in the Government Schools of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the Point of View of the Counselors

The study aimed to identify the role of the educational counselor in the use of educational technology during the Corona pandemic in the government schools of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the point of view of the counselors, and the study sample consisted of educational counselors in government schools affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Education. (208) An educational guide and counselor, and the study used the descriptive survey method, and the results of the study showed that there is a high role for the educational counselor in the use of educational technology during the Corona pandemic in the government schools of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the point of view of the counselors, and the results also showed that there are no statistically significant differences in the role of The educational counselor in the use of educational technology during the Corona pandemic in the government schools of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the point of view of the counselors is attributed to the variables of gender and educational qualification, and in light of the results, the study presented a set of recommendations, most notably activating the role of the educational counselor and obligating him to regular visits to electronic platforms to follow up on students. Keywords: Educational Advisor, Educational Technology, Corona Pandemic, Government Schools of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-19-14 Publication date:June 30th 202

The catalytic power of magnesium chelatase: a benchmark for the AAA(+) ATPases

In the first committed reaction of chlorophyll biosynthesis, magnesium chelatase couples ATP hydrolysis to the thermodynamically unfavorable Mg(2+) insertion into protoporphyrin IX (ΔGº' of ca. 25-33 kJ/mol). We explored the thermodynamic constraints on magnesium chelatase and demonstrate the effect of nucleotide hydrolysis on both the reaction kinetics and thermodynamics. The enzyme produces a significant rate enhancement (kcat /kuncat of 400 x 10(6) M) and a catalytic rate enhancement, kcat /Km (DIX) K0.5 (mg) Kuncat of 30 x 10(15) M(-1) , increasing to 300 x 10(15) M(-1) with the activator protein Gun4. This is the first demonstration of the thermodynamic benefit of ATP hydrolysis in the AAA(+) family. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Core outcomes in periodontal trials:study protocol for core outcome set development

Abstract Background There are a large number of clinical outcome measures used to assess the effectiveness of prevention and management strategies of periodontal diseases. This heterogeneity causes difficulties when trying to synthesise data for systematic reviews or clinical guidelines, reducing their impact. Core outcome sets are an agreed, standardised list of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all trials in specific clinical areas. We aim to develop a core outcome set for effectiveness trials investigating the prevention and management of periodontal disease in primary or secondary care. Methods To identify existing outcomes we screened the Cochrane systematic reviews and their included studies on the prevention and management of periodontal diseases. The core outcome set will be defined by consensus of key stakeholders using an online e-Delphi process and face-to-face meeting. Key stakeholders involved in the development will include: patients, dentists, hygienists/therapists, specialists, clinical researchers and policy-makers. Stakeholders will be asked to prioritise outcomes and feedback will be provided in the next round(s). Stakeholders will have an opportunity to add outcomes found in the Cochrane review screening process at the end of the first round. If consensus is not reached after the second round we will provide feedback prior to a third round. Remaining outcomes will be discussed at a face-to-face meeting and agreement will be measured via defined consensus rules of outcome inclusion. Discussion The inclusive consensus process should provide a core outcome set that is relevant to all key stakeholders. We will actively disseminate our findings to help improve clinical trials, systematic reviews and clinical guidelines with the ultimate aim of improving the prevention and management of periodontal diseases. Trial registration COMET ( http://www.comet-initiative.org/studies/details/265?result=true ). Registered on August 2012

Disinfection of football protective equipment using chlorine dioxide produced by the ICA TriNova system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backround</p> <p>Community-associated methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>outbreaks have occurred in individuals engaged in athletic activities such as wrestling and football. Potential disease reduction interventions include the reduction or elimination of bacteria on common use items such as equipment. Chlorine dioxide has a long history of use as a disinfectant. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the ability of novel portable chlorine dioxide generation devices to eliminate bacteria contamination of helmets and pads used by individuals engaged in football.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In field studies, the number of bacteria associated with heavily used football helmets and shoulder pads was determined before and after overnight treatment with chlorine dioxide gas. Bacteria were recovered using cotton swabs and plated onto trypticase soy agar plates. In laboratory studies, <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>was applied directly to pads. The penetration of bacteria into the pads was determined by inoculating agar plates with portions of the pads taken from the different layers of padding. The ability to eliminate bacteria on the pad surface and underlying foam layers after treatment with chlorine dioxide was also determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rates of recovery of bacteria after treatment clearly demonstrated that chlorine dioxide significantly (p < 0.001) reduce and eliminated bacteria found on the surface of pads. For example, the soft surface of shoulder pads from a university averaged 2.7 × 10³recoverable bacteria colonies before chlorine dioxide treatment and 1.3 × 10²recoverable colonies after treatment. In addition, the gas was capable of penetrating the mesh surface layer and killing bacteria in the underlying foam pad layers. Here, 7 × 10³to 4.5 × 10³laboratory applied <it>S. aureus </it>colonies were recovered from underlying layers before treatment and 0 colonies were present after treatment. Both naturally occurring bacteria and <it>S. aureus </it>were susceptible to the treatment process.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results of this study have shown that chlorine dioxide can easily and safely be used to eliminate bacteria contamination of protective pads used by football players. This could serve to reduce exposure to potential pathogens such as the methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>among this group of individuals.</p

Experimental Models of Short Courses of Liposomal Amphotericin B for Induction Therapy for Cryptococcal Meningitis.

Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis is a rapidly lethal infection in immunocompromised patients. Induction regimens are usually administered for 2-weeks. The shortest effective period of induction therapy with liposomal amphotericin B (LAmB) is unknown. The pharmacodynamics of LAmB were studied in murine and rabbit models of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis. The concentrations of LAmB in plasma and brain of mice were measured using HPLC. Histopathological changes were determined. The penetration of LAmB into the brain was determined by immunohistochemistry using an antibody directed to amphotericin B. A dose-dependent decline in fungal burden was observed in the brain of mice with near-maximal efficacy achieved with LAmB 10-20 mg/kg/day. The terminal elimination half-life in brain was 133 hours. The pharmacodynamics of a single dose of 20 mg/kg was the same as 20 mg/kg/day administered for 2 weeks. Changes in quantitative counts were reflected by histopathological changes in the brain. Three doses of LAmB 5 mg/kg/day in rabbits were required to achieve fungicidal activity in cerebrospinal fluid (cumulative AUC 2500 mg.h/L). Amphotericin B was visible in the intra- and perivascular spaces, leptomeninges and choroid plexus. The prolonged mean residence time of amphotericin B in the brain suggest abbreviated induction regimens of LAmB are possible for cryptococcal meningoencephalitis

Plexiform neurofibroma of the submandibular gland in patient with von Recklinghausen's disease

Plexiform neurofibroma of the submandibular gland is an extremely rare tumor. Herein, we report a case of plexiform neurofibroma in a patient with a von Recklinghausen's disease (NF-1) who presented with a submandibular mass mimicking a submandibular gland tumor. Complete surgical excision provides the best treatment and final diagnosis. A neurofibroma should be considered in the differential diagnosis for submandibular mass

Hysteresis in a quantized, superfluid atomtronic circuit

Atomtronics is an emerging interdisciplinary field that seeks new functionality by creating devices and circuits where ultra-cold atoms, often superfluids, play a role analogous to the electrons in electronics. Hysteresis is widely used in electronic circuits, e.g., it is routinely observed in superconducting circuits and is essential in rf-superconducting quantum interference devices [SQUIDs]. Furthermore, hysteresis is as fundamental to superfluidity (and superconductivity) as quantized persistent currents, critical velocity, and Josephson effects. Nevertheless, in spite of multiple theoretical predictions, hysteresis has not been previously observed in any superfluid, atomic-gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Here we demonstrate hysteresis in a quantized atomtronic circuit: a ring of superfluid BEC obstructed by a rotating weak link. We directly detect hysteresis between quantized circulation states, in contrast to superfluid liquid helium experiments that observed hysteresis directly in systems where the quantization of flow could not be observed and indirectly in systems that showed quantized flow. Our techniques allow us to tune the size of the hysteresis loop and to consider the fundamental excitations that accompany hysteresis. The results suggest that the relevant excitations involved in hysteresis are vortices and indicate that dissipation plays an important role in the dynamics. Controlled hysteresis in atomtronic circuits may prove to be a crucial feature for the development of practical devices, just as it has in electronic circuits like memory, digital noise filters (e.g., Schmitt triggers), and magnetometers (e.g., SQUIDs).Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

TrpA1 Regulates Thermal Nociception in Drosophila

Pain is a significant medical concern and represents a major unmet clinical need. The ability to perceive and react to tissue-damaging stimuli is essential in order to maintain bodily integrity in the face of environmental danger. To prevent damage the systems that detect noxious stimuli are therefore under strict evolutionary pressure. We developed a high-throughput behavioral method to identify genes contributing to thermal nociception in the fruit fly and have reported a large-scale screen that identified the Ca2+ channel straightjacket (stj) as a conserved regulator of thermal nociception. Here we present the minimal anatomical and neuronal requirements for Drosophila to avoid noxious heat in our novel behavioral paradigm. Bioinformatics analysis of our whole genome data set revealed 23 genes implicated in Ca2+ signaling that are required for noxious heat avoidance. One of these genes, the conserved thermoreceptor TrpA1, was confirmed as a bona fide “pain” gene in both adult and larval fly nociception paradigms. The nociceptive function of TrpA1 required expression within the Drosophila nervous system, specifically within nociceptive multi-dendritic (MD) sensory neurons. Therefore, our analysis identifies the channel TRPA1 as a conserved regulator of nociception

Informed Switching Strongly Decreases the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital Wards

Antibiotic resistant nosocomial infections are an important cause of mortality and morbidity in hospitals. Antibiotic cycling has been proposed to contain this spread by a coordinated use of different antibiotics. Theoretical work, however, suggests that often the random deployment of drugs (“mixing”) might be the better strategy. We use an epidemiological model for a single hospital ward in order to assess the performance of cycling strategies which take into account the frequency of antibiotic resistance in the hospital ward. We assume that information on resistance frequencies stems from microbiological tests, which are performed in order to optimize individual therapy. Thus the strategy proposed here represents an optimization at population-level, which comes as a free byproduct of optimizing treatment at the individual level. We find that in most cases such an informed switching strategy outperforms both periodic cycling and mixing, despite the fact that information on the frequency of resistance is derived only from a small sub-population of patients. Furthermore we show that the success of this strategy is essentially a stochastic phenomenon taking advantage of the small population sizes in hospital wards. We find that the performance of an informed switching strategy can be improved substantially if information on resistance tests is integrated over a period of one to two weeks. Finally we argue that our findings are robust against a (moderate) preexistence of doubly resistant strains and against transmission via environmental reservoirs. Overall, our results suggest that switching between different antibiotics might be a valuable strategy in small patient populations, if the switching strategies take the frequencies of resistance alleles into account