The Effect of Entamoeba Histolytica and Giardia Lamblia Infection on Some Human Hematological Parameters

This study was carried out in Al Haweeja General Hospital/Kirkuk, Iraq from June2013to February2014. A total of 207 Patients of both sexes from all ages were eligible for this study. The chosen patients had single infection either with Entamoeba  histolytica or Giardia lamblia.Entamoeba  histolytica was diagnosedin 84 (40.5%)  stool samples from the total number examined. No significant differences was appeared between males (43.8%) and females (37%) infected with  E. histolytica. Age group 1-10 years had significantly  higher rate of infection (60%) followed by 11-20 years with rate of 34%. The lower rate was for 41-50 (16%). High rates of the E. histolytica positive samples contained trophozoite and cyst(47.6%), followed by cystic stage (27%), while trophozoite stage was found in 25% of samples.G. lamblia prevalence was significantly lower compared with E. histolytica. It was diagnosed in 15 (7.2%) stool samples of 207 samples examined. No significant differences were recorded between the females (8%) and the males (6%). Also no significant differences appeared between the different age groups. G. lamblia was more prevalent as trophozoite (46.6%), trophozoite and cystic (40%) than cystic stage alone (13.3%). The samples containing  trophozoite and cystic stages of E. histolytica had the most apparent significant effect on all hematological parameters , and the highest rate of abnormality was seen in HB levels, followed by these samples having E. histolytica cyst alone , also significantly high rate of abnormality was for PCV levels. The lowest rate was for samples containing G. lamblia stages. Eosinophil showed significantly high rate with G. lamblia trophozoite compared with the control. Lymphocyte showed significantly high rate with E.histolytica (trophozoite+cyst) compared with the control. No significant differences were noted with the other types of WBCs (neutrophil, monocyte, basophil) inall cases of infections compared with the control. Keywords: Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Hematological parameters, Iraq

Britain’s withdrawal from the gulf: with particular reference to the emirates

This thesis is an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the British withdrawal from the Gulf in 1971, with special emphasis on the Trucial States before it became the United Arab Emirates in December 1971.The work commences with a review of the historical British connection with the Gulf from 1820 to the Kuwait operation of 1961. Then we look at various nationalist movements and the politicai upheaval around the Gulf, such as the Aden and Dhofar rebellions, and how that affected the British presence in the area. The British tried to curb such influence from reaching the Trucial States, especially those of Nasser and the Arab League, by introducing some economic development through the Trucial States Development Office. Furthermore, Britain gradually ceded various responsibilities such as legal and internal security to the rulers. At the same time the British companies working in the Emirates were encouraged to rely on their own resources without the protection of the British troops. The establishment of a federation between the nine emirates was Britain’s prime aim but when that failed in July 1971, the federation of the seven was established (Ras al-Khaimah entered the federation in February 1972). Furthermore, Britain worked hard to bring Saudi Arabia and Iran together in order to help to fill the vacuum that would occur after the withdrawal of the British troops. The latter policy changed Britain's stance on the territorial disputes from support for the rulers of the Trucial States to pressuring them to compromise with Iran over the Islands of Abu Musa and the Tunbs and with Saudi Arabia over Buraimi. The thesis concludes that all of these factors prepared the Emirates to stand on their own and consequently enabled the British withdrawal in December 1971

4th Space as Smart Information Ecology with Design Requirements of Sustainability, Ethics and Inclusion

New social environments are emerging as spaces and places where work and life at home are no longer separate. Digital spaces and physical places have become intertwined: the 1st space is home, the 2nd is work, the 3rd is informal meeting places, while the 4th space represents different combinations of the previous ones. This paper describes the need for value-based designs of the 4th space through a transdisciplinary approach. We argue for a need to understand human interactions in physical and digital spaces from a user-centered perspective, meaning to understand user needs and preferences of digital content in physical and virtual spaces. Moreover, we point out the need to address identity, ethical, and legal requirements of these types of spaces. Finally, we address the need to connect emerging technologies such as AI, and design approaches such a gamification, with cognitive, structural, economic, social and technological challenges and opportunities of the 4th space

Exploring Runners' Preferences of Drone Based Feedback to Support their Well-Being

While drones are frequently used to capture aerial footage of runners, their utilization to enhance well-being of runners through real time feedback has not been fully explored. In this paper we investigate runners' feedback preferences regarding drone-feedback and its implications for drone-feedback design. Using an embodied storming approach, we engaged 25 participants in a running activity to gather their preferences on running-related feedback delivered through drones. Our analysis uncovered runners' top three preferred feedback parameters were pace, trunk lean, and time. Additionally, participants preferred instructive feedback for posture/technique-related parameters, and activity-related feedback focused on their current state. Furthermore, we present results from a reflexive thematic analysis, highlighting design considerations for drone feedback and its impact on designing drones for runners. We hope that these findings will inspire future researchers to explore the use of drones in promoting runners' well-being.</p

Envisioning social drones in education

Education is one of the major application fields in social Human-Robot Interaction. Several forms of social robots have been explored to engage and assist students in the classroom environment, from full-bodied humanoid robots to tabletop robot companions, but flying robots have been left unexplored in this context. In this paper, we present seven online remote workshops conducted with 20 participants to investigate the application area of Education in the Human-Drone Interaction domain; particularly focusing on what roles a social drone could fulfill in a classroom, how it would interact with students, teachers and its environment, what it could look like, and what would specifically differ from other types of social robots used in education. In the workshops we used online collaboration tools, supported by a sketch artist, to help envision a social drone in a classroom. The results revealed several design implications for the roles and capabilities of a social drone, in addition to promising research directions for the development and design in the novel area of drones in education

On Matched Pairs Sign Test Using Bivariate Ranked Set Sampling: An Application to Environmental Issues

The matched pairs sign test using bivariate ranked set sampling (BVRSS) is introduced and investigated. We show that this test is asymptotically more efficient than its counterpart sign test based on a bivariate simple random sample (BVSRS). The asymptotic null distribution and the efficiency of the test are derived. The Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency is used to compare the asymptotic performance of the matched pairs sign test using BVRSS versus using BVSRS. For small sample sizes, the bootstrap method is used to estimate P-values. Numerical comparisons are used to gain insight about the efficiency of the BVRSS sign test compared to the BVSRS sign test. Our numerical and theoretical results indicate that using BVRSS for the matched pairs sign test is substantially more efficient than using BVSRS. Illustration using palm trees data from sultanate of Oman is provided. Key words: Bootstrap method, bivariate ranked set sample, power of the test, P-value of the test, Pitman\u27s relative efficiency, sign test

Meeting the Challenge of COVID-19 in DHQ Orthopaedic Department

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Not only that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a complete lockdown but also burdened healthcare systems across the world immensely. Objective: In this paper, we discuss the different strategies we adopted in the Orthopaedics Department of District Head Quarter [DHQ] Objective: In this paper, we discuss the different strategies we adopted in the Orthopaedics Department of District Head Quarter [DHQ hospital Rawalpindi, during this ongoing pandemic and share our experience of successfully but cautiously providing orthopedic services to patients in a public hospital. We compare our workload and output of May 2020 [pandemic phase] to May 2019 [standard/normal phase]. Methodology: The Hospital policy was changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. We increased public awareness and reduced load in the OPD using different strategies. We postponed all elective cases; focusing our logistics and resources only on the patients in urgent need of surgical management. A minimum number of doctors and OTAs were allocated on each list. Inwards, the patient stay was reduced. As a standard PCR test for COVID-19 was expensive, we devised our screening through history, examination, and routine investigations. Results:&nbsp; The average stay inwards was reduced from 6.4±4.6 days in May 2019 to 2.7±3.6 days in May 2020. The decrease in the stay was statistically significant (p=.0206) and was associated with a 24.4% increase in the number of total patient admissions in May 2020 (n=56) as compared to May 2019 (n=45). The number of surgeries performed month to month was very similar in normal and pandemic periods. Our OPD patient attendance dropped from 200-250 patients per day in 2019 to 60-70 during the ongoing pandemic phase. Conclusion: We believe that sharing experiences between health care actors allows us to develop an effective strategy to provide the very best care to our patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Design and implementation of FPGA-based systems - a review

This paper reviews the state of the art of field programmable gate array (FPGA) with the focus on FPGA-based systems. The paper starts with an overview of FPGA in the previous literature, after that starts to get an idea about FPGA programming. FPGA-based neural networks also provided in this paper in order to highlight the best advantage by using FPGA with this type of intelligent systems, and a survey of FPGA-based control systems design with different applications. In this paper, we focus on the main differences between software-based systems with respect to FPGA-based systems, and the main features for FPGA technology and its real-time applications. FPGA-based robotics systems design also provided in this review, finally, the most popular simulation results with FPGA design and implementations are highlighted

Risk for Suicide during Treatment with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Antidepressants Medication

Background: prolonged stress may lead to depression which also can lead to suicidal attempts. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remain the dominant class of antidepressants. Many mental health care providers have conflicts to the therapeutic role of antidepressants. Some studies found that SSRIs protect from suicide and others find no effect. Aims: to find if there is a relationship between the use of SSRIs and suicide. Methods: Computerized literature searches using CINAHL, Pub Med, and science direct database were undertaken, using the key words ‘SSRI antidepressants’, 'suicide, ' FDA black box warnings regarding SSRI antidepressants' , ‘ relationship between SSRIs and antidepressants', prevalence of SSRI antidepressants prescription among elderly', 'prevalence of suicide among patients treated with antidepressants' Conclusion: Increased risk of suicide and self-harm caused by SSRIs antidepressants cannot be ruled out, but more searches with longer follow up are required to assess the balance of risks and benefits to be fully understood

Tarik Menarik Faktor-Faktor Sosial Psikologis dalam Terbentuknya Sikap Mahasiswa Terhadap Isu Kesetaraan dan Keadilan Gender

Gerakan yang menolak isu-isu kesetaraan gender dengan menggunakan tafsiran terhadap agama sangat gencar dan sistematis disosialisasikan baik melalui kelompok kajian maupun di media sosial. Di sisi lain, mahasiswa sangat familiar dengan media sosial dan juga tertarik mengikuti kajian keagamaan yang banyak tersedia belakangan ini. Bagaimana mahasiswa menyikapi ide-ide kesetaraan dan keadilan gender dalam situasi seperti ini? Faktor faktor apa saja yang penting dalam pembentukan sikap mahasiswa tersebut? Dan bagaimana pengaruh sikap tersebut terhadap perilaku mahasiswa? Penelitian ini mencoba menjawab masalah-masalah tersebut dengan pendekatan constructive realism. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama dan kedua, mahasiswa diminta mengisi open-ended questionnaire. Data tersebut kemudian dianalisis isinya untuk mengkategorisasikan sikap responden terhadap isu-isu kesetaraan dan keadilan gender dan faktor-faktor yang melatarbelakanginya. FGD dilakukan untuk memperoleh jawababn tentang dampak sikap terhadap perilaku mahasiswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sikap mahasiswa cenderung setuju dengan ide-ide kesetaraan dan keadilan gender, namun terdapat differensiasi sikap terhadap semua isu-isu kesetaraan dan keadilan gender yang dipaparkan. Differensiasi sikap itu muncul terutama pada saat menempatkan posisi dan peran perempuan ketika sudah menikah dan memiliki anak. Pengalaman-pengalaman di rumah, di sekolah, di masyarakat dan di perguruan tinggi, saling tarik menarik dalam membentuk sikap tersebut di samping faktor fleksibilitas berpikir individu. Sikap terhadap isu-isu kesetaraan dan keadilan gender berperan penting terhadap aspirasi pendidikan dan karir bagi mahasiswa. Khusus bagi mahasiswi, sikap setuju secara positif mempengaruhi mahasiswi untuk mengembangkan diri secara maksimal, namun sebaliknya sikap tidak setuju membawa mahasiswi membatasi peran dan pengembangan dirinya dengan hanya memusatkan peran ideal perempuan sebagai ibu