IN VITRO ANTI-SICKLING ACTIVITY OF ARTEMISIA HERBA-ALBA ASSO (CHIH) METHANOLIC EXTRACT ON SICKLE CELL DISEASE

ABSTRACTBackground: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by polymerization of abnormal hemoglobin S when oxygen tension decreases. Previous studies havebeen indicated that some medicinal plants have shown an anti-sickling activity, which indicates a new therapeutic way to a range of people who areaffected by this hemoglobinopathy. The current study aimed to assess the in vitro anti-sickling activity of Artemisia herba-alba Asso methanolic extract.Methods: The blood samples used in the evaluation of the anti-sickling activity of the plant extract in this study were taken from patients known tohave SCD, attending in the King Khaled Hospital in Majmaah. Emmel test was used to assess anti-sickling activity of this plant.Results: The normal shape of the red blood cells (RBCs) was observed after incubation of RBCs with A. herba-alba Asso extract and 2% sodiummetabisulfite as compared to control. A significant increase in the percentage of unsickled RBCs was observed after incubation of RBCs with 2%sodium metabisulfite in the presence of 500 and 1000 µg/ml of A. herba-alba Asso extract. Besides, the difference between the percentage of unsickledRBCs after 30 and 60 minutes incubation time was significant for 500 µg/ml of A. herba-alba Asso extract.Conclusion: Significant in vitro anti-sickling activity of A. herba-alba Asso extract was demonstrated in RBCs pretreated with 2% sodium metabisulfite.The results obtained in this study have shown significant in vitro anti-sickling activity of A. herba-alba Asso extract, and these findings may justify theuse of this plant in the management of SCD.Keywords: In vitro, Anti-sickling activity, Artemisia herba-alba Asso, Emmel test, Sodium metabisulfite, Percentage, Unsickled red blood cells, Sicklecell disease

Exploring predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy for online teaching in the arab world amid Covid-19

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the unexpected transition to online teaching due to COVID-19 necessitates that teachers should have the knowledge, competent skills and strategies to integrate digital tools and platforms effectively. Literature suggests however that many teachers do not feel confident enough or lack perceived capability in teaching using advanced technologies in classrooms, and do not have positive self-efficacy beliefs towards their online teaching. Hence, the purpose of this mixed-method study is to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) in online learning environments amid Covid-19. A total of 150 K-12 teachers from six Arab countries were invited to participate in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that perceived self-efficacy of online teaching was high. Two main factors, receiving support to design online instruction and receiving professional development in online teaching, significantly predict participants’ sense of self-efficacy. Teachers who have previous experience in online teaching scored higher on their self-efficacy than teachers with limited or no experience. Student engagement had the weakest correlation between the four scales with the overall self-efficacy. Parental involvement was discovered through the qualitative analysis to be an emerging factor that could enhance teachers’ self-efficacy. Recommendations and limitations are further discussed

The systematic implementation of an innovative postgraduate online learning model in the middle east

This paper aims at examining the factors contributing to effective implementation of online learning in the Middle East higher education sector, through investigating the success and learning effectiveness of an innovative online learning model offered jointly by three prestigious universities in two different Arab countries. A mixed-method research approach was employed to triangulate data collected from key stakeholders engaged with the programme, namely senior managers and enrolled students, to derive findings that would inform managers, trainers and educators, from a systemic implementation, faculty-development and course-design perspective. Qualitative data gathered from face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with a number of senior managers took place delineated on the necessary enabling conditions to create, design and offer a quality online programme. Quantitative data collected from a student satisfaction survey examined factors contributing to perceived learning and student satisfaction in an online learning context. Following thematic analysis, five major factors were identified as critical for effective online learning implementation, namely: Rationale and Motivating Factors, Technology Infrastructure, E-Learning Pedagogy and Support Infrastructure, Course Design and Delivery and Lessons Learned. Results showed that Course Structure/Organisation, Learner Interaction, Student Engagement and Instructor Presence appeared to be the major factors contributing to high satisfaction and perceived learning. This paper argues that the shift towards blended and online modes of learning is inevitable, advocating the fundamental conception that online education is instrumental in expanding access to tertiary education. If properly designed and implemented, online education has the potential to alleviate academic rigor through improved faculty productivity at reduced tuition costs. Implications for further research and practical recommendations are also discussed

Examining Factors Determining the Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Learning Systems in Higher Education: An Integrative Framework during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper explores mobile learning (m-learning) acceptance and use through integrating UTAUT and IS success models to examine whether quality factors (including “Information Quality,” “System Quality” and “Service Quality”) and behavioral factors (including “Performance Expectancy,” “Social Influence” and “Facilitating Conditions”) predict students’ satisfaction and their intention to use m-learning systems. Data were collected through surveys from a total of 383 higher education male and female students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Structural equation modelling and path analysis were employed to test the proposed research model, showing that “Information Quality,” “System Quality,” “Service Quality,” “Performance Expectancy,” “Social Influence,” “Facilitating Conditions,” and “Satisfaction” determined students’ intentions to use m-learning. “Satisfaction” was the most important antecedent of user behavior with m-learning, and “Performance Expectancy” was found to have the highest effect on “Satisfaction.” The study’s contribution to the advancement of m-learning acceptance and usage is connected to the theory and practice

Illegitimate Tasks, Negative Affectivity, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Private School Teachers: A Mediated–Moderated Model

Social sustainability has gained popularity over the last decade, with a growing body of research calling for researchers to focus on the personal-level determinants of employee satisfaction and well-being in the pursuit of social sustainability. By using negative affectivity as a mediating mechanism and gender and passive leadership as moderators, this study examines a novel sequential mediation–moderation model that explores the relationship between unreasonable tasks and teachers’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). It employs the Conservation of Resources (COR) and Stress as Offense to Self (SOS) paradigms as a comprehensive theoretical framework for organizational stressors and organizational behavior. A total of 415 matched questionnaire responses were collected from private school teachers in the UAE. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is conducted using AMOS 20, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is utilized to verify the causal and moderation hypotheses, and the resulting moderated mediated conceptual model is evaluated by employing Hayes PROCESS analysis. Results demonstrate the effects of illegitimate tasks on OCB are indirect and statistically significant and are mediated through negative affectivity. The cumulative effect of illegitimate tasks and negative affectivity on OCB is magnified by the moderating effects of passive leadership

Chemotherapie des rezidivierten Ovarialkarzinoms: Eine retrospektive Analyse im Patientinnenkollektiv der Universitäts-Frauenklink Tübingen als Basis für das individuelle Patientinnengespräch

Das Ovarialkarzinom ist nach dem Mammakarzinom mit einem 5-Jahres-Überleben von ca. 43% über allen Stadien die häufigste tödliche gynäkologische Krebserkrankung. Das Ovarialkarzinom stellt nicht nur eine Erkrankungsentität dar, sondern besteht aus einer heterogenen Gruppe von malignen epithelialen Tumoren, die sich als Ovarial-, Tuben- oder Peritonealkarzinome darstellen können. Die Therapie des rezidivierenden Ovarialkarzinoms ist im Vergleich zur Erstlinientherapie trotz hoher Rezidivraten im fortgeschrittenen Stadium von bis zu 80% noch nicht ausreichend standardisiert. Die Basis in der Behandlung eines rezidivierenden Ovarialkarzinoms ist die individuelle Aufklärung und vertrauensvolle Interaktion mit der Patientin. Gerade in der Rezidivsituation sind die Fragen nach Therapiemöglichkeiten, Dauer der Chemotherapie versus Chemotherapie-freie Zeit, Erhalt der Lebensqualität sowie die Frage nach dem Gesamtüberleben von großer Bedeutung für die Patientin. Vor diesem Hintergrund widmete sich die vorliegende Studie der Auswertung von Behandlungsdaten und klinischen Verläufen von insgesamt 416 Patientinnen mit einem rezidivierenden Ovarial-, Tuben oder Peritonealkarzinom (Erstdiagnose 2000-2014) eines großen gynäko-onkologischen Zentrums als Fundament für das individualisierte Patientinnengespräch, um eine realistische Aufklärung über die Prognose in der Rezidivsituation zu ermöglichen. Hierbei zeigte sich u.a., dass eine Patientin ab dem zweiten Rezidiv in Anbetracht der mit zunehmender Rezidivanzahl kürzer werdenden Rezidiv-freien Zeit, mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit mehr Zeit in einer Chemotherapie als ohne Chemotherapie verbringt und die Überlebenschancen insgesamt trotz Chemotherapie gering sind. Deshalb sollte mit jeder weiteren Progression im Hinblick auf die Lebensqualität immer individuell der Wille und der Allgemeinzustand der Patientin in die Therapieentscheidung mit einbezogen werden, vor allem in der platinresistenten Situation mit ggf. einer Entscheidung für Best Supportive Care

Microstructural properties and peritectic reactions in a binary Co–Sn alloy by means of scanning electron microscopy and atom probe tomography

Recent studies of lithium-ion batteries suggest that the use of binary CoSn alloys as anodes should provide an improvement over currently used anode materials. However, the implementation of CoSn alloys is challenging due to uncertainties regarding the phase transformations within this system. In order to understand these, we evaluate the compositions of different intermetallic compounds produced via the peritectic reactions, nucleate and grow within the microstructure of binary Sn − 25 at.% Co by employing atom probe tomography (APT). The stoichiometric ${\rm{CoSn}}$ phase, which is produced upon the cooling of the melt, is not only found as part of the peritectic solidification sequence but also as clusters within the pure Sn phase. The ${{\rm{CoSn}}}_{2}$ phase was found as a nano sized layer and is attributed to the peritectic reaction between the ${\rm{CoSn}}$ phase and the pure Sn phase. The production of the ${{\rm{CoSn}}}_{3}$ compound was enhanced by the phase transformation of the ${{\rm{CoSn}}}_{2}$ phase. Furthermore, ${{\rm{CoSn}}}_{3}$ clusters had formed in the pure Sn phase. A limited solubility within the pure Sn phase was also determined to be (0.6 ± 0.1) at.% Co

Calculating the density of electronic charge for hydrogen atom and ions like atom

The radial wave function R(r) and the radial distribution function P(r) as a function of (r), for the Hydrogen atom was calculated for several atomic state (1s,2s,2p,3s,3p,3d) The results were compared with Hydrogen like atom(He+,Li+2,Be+3)

Effect of Modifying Mechanical Ventilator Trigger Sensitivity on Arterial Blood Gases in ICU Patients

Background: Despite the fact that mechanical ventilation is an essential part in management of critically ill patients, mechanically ventilated patients have a higher risk of complications, which can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Objective: This study aimed to study the effect of training inspiratory muscle through modifying mechanical ventilator (MV) trigger sensitivity on arterial blood gases in mechanically ventilated patients. Patients and Methods: Sixty adult patients diagnosed with acute respiratory failure, needed to be intubated and connected to mechanical ventilated. They were from both gender and their ages ranged from 50 to 70 years. The patient were chosen from Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Department of Chest Diseases, Cairo University Hospitals. They were randomly assigned into two equal groups. Group (A): included thirty patients who received training for inspiratory muscle through modifying MV trigger sensitivity plus usual physical therapy. Group (B): included thirty patients who received usual physical therapy only. Results: The results showed a significant increase in partial arterial pressure (PaO2) in both groups, this increasing was significantly higher in  patients who received training for the inspiratory muscle plus the usual chest physical therapy than patients who only received usual chest physical therapy (P-value < 0.001). The results showed no significant change in neither power of hydrogen (pH) nor partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2). Conclusion: Training to inspiratory muscles in mechanically ventilated patient through modifying mechanical ventilator trigger sensitivity can produce a significant increase in partial arterial pressure (PaO2). Although it has no effect in pH nor PaCO2