A study of Women Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

Today women entrepreneurs are increasing in Saudi Arabia. In order to understand about women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia, a sample of 200 women entrepreneurs were selected from various business areas. The research instrument adopted here was questionnaire with closed ended questions. The main aim of this study was to understand the reasons to start a business, identify the benefits realized and various advertising channels used by these women entrepreneurs. Based on the responses, it was understood that the reasons to start a business was to be an independent person, to get recognition in the society, to build a successful organization, to have innovativeness and to continue the family traditions. The identified business benefits were in the area of Information Technology adoption, Literacy rates, Availability of internet facilities, Government policies, Purchase behavior and Technology adoption. The preferred advertising channels for business were Facebook, Twitter, Business Websites as well others like google, Instagram and LinkedIn

Integral Transforms and PT\mathcal{PT}-symmetric Hamiltonians

The exponential Fourier transform of a given non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$ -symmetric potential in the position space is Hermitian. We prove this proposition for any $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. The hermiticity of the Fourier transformed non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operator can be used as a condition for the reality of energy spectra. In the broken $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric regime, pairs of complex eigenvalues may appear for potentials written in the position space. However, these complex pairs disappear in the momentum space and we are left only with real eigenvalues. Moreover, we comment on the holomorphic representation of non-Hermitian spin chains in which the Hamiltonian operator is written in term of analytical phase-space coordinates and their partial derivatives in the Bargmann space rather than matrices in the complex Hilbert space. Specifying to non-Hermitian $XX$ spin chain, we prove by numerically solving the quantum master equation its ability to flip from dynamical to static system by running the coupling constant from weak to strong. This would be used in building novel non-volatile memories. Finally, we test our proposition in the case of Swanson Hamiltonian.Comment: 20 pages, added section on XX spin chains and non-volatile memorie

Development of Transportation Master Plan Rafah Governorate, 2030

4.1 Design Criteria 9 4.1. 1 Roadway Sections 9 4.1. 2 Intersections 12 4.1. 3 Off-Street Parking Areas (Taxi stations) 13 4.1. 4 The Level of Service (LOS) 13 4.1. 5 Warrants for the use of traffic signals 14 4.2 Planning Horizon 15 4.3 Transportation Modeling 1

Genetics of Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathies (CMs) encompass a heterogeneous group of structural and functional (systolic and diastolic) abnormalities of the myocardium and are either confined to the cardiovascular system or are part of a systemic disorder. CMs represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and account for a significant percentage of death and cardiac transplantation. The 2006 American Heart Association (AHA) classification grouped CMs into primary (genetic, mixed, or acquired) or secondary (i.e., infiltrative or autoimmune). In 2008, the European Society of Cardiology classification proposed subgrouping CM into familial or genetic and nonfamilial or nongenetic forms. In 2013, the World Heart Federation recommended the MOGES nosology system, which incorporates a morpho-functional phenotype (M), organ(s) involved (O), the genetic inheritance pattern (G), an etiological annotation (E) including genetic defects or underlying disease/substrates, and the functional status (S) of a particular patient based on heart failure symptoms. Rapid advancements in the biology of cardio-genetics have revealed substantial genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity in myocardial disease. Given the variety of disciplines in the scientific and clinical fields, any desired classification may face challenges to obtaining consensus. Nonetheless, the heritable phenotype-based CM classification offers the possibility of a simple, clinically useful diagnostic scheme. In this chapter, we will describe the genetic basis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), LV noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC), and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM). Although the descriptive morphologies of these types of CM differ, an overlapping phenotype is frequently encountered within the CM types and arrhythmogenic pathology in clinical practice. CMs appear to originate secondary to disruption of “final common pathways.” These disruptions may have purely genetic causes. For example, single gene mutations result in dysfunctional protein synthesis causing downstream dysfunctional protein interactions at the level of the sarcomere and a CM phenotype. The sarcomere is a complex with multiple protein interactions, including thick myofilament proteins, thin myofilament proteins, and myosin-binding proteins. In addition, other proteins are involved in the surrounding architecture of the sarcomere such as the Z-disk and muscle LIM proteins. One or multiple genes can exhibit tissue-specific function, development, and physiologically regulated patterns of expression for each protein. Alternatively, multiple mutations in the same gene (compound heterozygosity) or in different genes (digenic heterozygosity) may lead to a phenotype that may be classic, more severe, or even overlapping with other disease forms

Synthesis, docking and evaluation of novel fused pyrimidine compounds as possible lead compounds with antibacterial and antitumor activities

Reaction of a series of hydrazonoyl chlorides with substituted aminopyrimidines afforded good selectivity in most cases leading either to formation of new imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine derivatives, or regioisomeric hydrazonamide adducts. The compounds were evaluated for antibacterial and anticancer activities. Screening against 'E. Coli', 'P. aeruginosa', 'S. aureus', 'S. epidermidis', 'B. subtilis' and 'K. rhizophila' did identify several different compound types with MIC of 0.1-0.4 mg/mL. Anticancer evaluation against a HeLa cell line identified one imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine lead. An 'in silico' target fishing analysis suggest three possible high value protein targets, Tankyrase-2 (Tank-2), Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2) and Epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase receptor (EGFR), with modelling fit against co-crystallized known ligands. This provides a new structural family lead for further investigation of molecular targets and potential SAR activity development

Quantitative utilization of prior biological knowledge in the Bayesian network modeling of gene expression data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bayesian Network (BN) is a powerful approach to reconstructing genetic regulatory networks from gene expression data. However, expression data by itself suffers from high noise and lack of power. Incorporating prior biological knowledge can improve the performance. As each type of prior knowledge on its own may be incomplete or limited by quality issues, integrating multiple sources of prior knowledge to utilize their consensus is desirable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We introduce a new method to incorporate the quantitative information from multiple sources of prior knowledge. It first uses the Naïve Bayesian classifier to assess the likelihood of functional linkage between gene pairs based on prior knowledge. In this study we included cocitation in PubMed and schematic similarity in Gene Ontology annotation. A candidate network edge reservoir is then created in which the copy number of each edge is proportional to the estimated likelihood of linkage between the two corresponding genes. In network simulation the Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling algorithm is adopted, and samples from this reservoir at each iteration to generate new candidate networks. We evaluated the new algorithm using both simulated and real gene expression data including that from a yeast cell cycle and a mouse pancreas development/growth study. Incorporating prior knowledge led to a ~2 fold increase in the number of known transcription regulations recovered, without significant change in false positive rate. In contrast, without the prior knowledge BN modeling is not always better than a random selection, demonstrating the necessity in network modeling to supplement the gene expression data with additional information.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>our new development provides a statistical means to utilize the quantitative information in prior biological knowledge in the BN modeling of gene expression data, which significantly improves the performance.</p

Efficacy and safety of two neutralising monoclonal antibody therapies, sotrovimab and BRII-196 plus BRII-198, for adults hospitalised with COVID-19 (TICO): a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of two neutralising monoclonal antibody therapies (sotrovimab [Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline] and BRII-196 plus BRII-198 [Brii Biosciences]) for adults admitted to hospital for COVID-19 (hereafter referred to as hospitalised) with COVID-19. METHODS: In this multinational, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, clinical trial (Therapeutics for Inpatients with COVID-19 [TICO]), adults (aged ≥18 years) hospitalised with COVID-19 at 43 hospitals in the USA, Denmark, Switzerland, and Poland were recruited. Patients were eligible if they had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 symptoms for up to 12 days. Using a web-based application, participants were randomly assigned (2:1:2:1), stratified by trial site pharmacy, to sotrovimab 500 mg, matching placebo for sotrovimab, BRII-196 1000 mg plus BRII-198 1000 mg, or matching placebo for BRII-196 plus BRII-198, in addition to standard of care. Each study product was administered as a single dose given intravenously over 60 min. The concurrent placebo groups were pooled for analyses. The primary outcome was time to sustained clinical recovery, defined as discharge from the hospital to home and remaining at home for 14 consecutive days, up to day 90 after randomisation. Interim futility analyses were based on two seven-category ordinal outcome scales on day 5 that measured pulmonary status and extrapulmonary complications of COVID-19. The safety outcome was a composite of death, serious adverse events, incident organ failure, and serious coinfection up to day 90 after randomisation. Efficacy and safety outcomes were assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population, defined as all patients randomly assigned to treatment who started the study infusion. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04501978. FINDINGS: Between Dec 16, 2020, and March 1, 2021, 546 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to sotrovimab (n=184), BRII-196 plus BRII-198 (n=183), or placebo (n=179), of whom 536 received part or all of their assigned study drug (sotrovimab n=182, BRII-196 plus BRII-198 n=176, or placebo n=178; median age of 60 years [IQR 50-72], 228 [43%] patients were female and 308 [57%] were male). At this point, enrolment was halted on the basis of the interim futility analysis. At day 5, neither the sotrovimab group nor the BRII-196 plus BRII-198 group had significantly higher odds of more favourable outcomes than the placebo group on either the pulmonary scale (adjusted odds ratio sotrovimab 1·07 [95% CI 0·74-1·56]; BRII-196 plus BRII-198 0·98 [95% CI 0·67-1·43]) or the pulmonary-plus complications scale (sotrovimab 1·08 [0·74-1·58]; BRII-196 plus BRII-198 1·00 [0·68-1·46]). By day 90, sustained clinical recovery was seen in 151 (85%) patients in the placebo group compared with 160 (88%) in the sotrovimab group (adjusted rate ratio 1·12 [95% CI 0·91-1·37]) and 155 (88%) in the BRII-196 plus BRII-198 group (1·08 [0·88-1·32]). The composite safety outcome up to day 90 was met by 48 (27%) patients in the placebo group, 42 (23%) in the sotrovimab group, and 45 (26%) in the BRII-196 plus BRII-198 group. 13 (7%) patients in the placebo group, 14 (8%) in the sotrovimab group, and 15 (9%) in the BRII-196 plus BRII-198 group died up to day 90. INTERPRETATION: Neither sotrovimab nor BRII-196 plus BRII-198 showed efficacy for improving clinical outcomes among adults hospitalised with COVID-19. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health and Operation Warp Speed

Tixagevimab–cilgavimab for treatment of patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial

Background: Tixagevimab–cilgavimab is a neutralising monoclonal antibody combination hypothesised to improve outcomes for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. We aimed to compare tixagevimab–cilgavimab versus placebo, in patients receiving remdesivir and other standard care. Methods: In a randomised, double-blind, phase 3, placebo-controlled trial, adults with symptoms for up to 12 days and hospitalised for COVID-19 at 81 sites in the USA, Europe, Uganda, and Singapore were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive intravenous tixagevimab 300 mg–cilgavimab 300 mg or placebo, in addition to remdesivir and other standard care. Patients were excluded if they had acute organ failure including receipt of invasive mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, vasopressor therapy, mechanical circulatory support, or new renal replacement therapy. The study drug was prepared by an unmasked pharmacist; study participants, site study staff, investigators, and clinical providers were masked to study assignment. The primary outcome was time to sustained recovery up to day 90, defined as 14 consecutive days at home after hospital discharge, with co-primary analyses for the full cohort and for participants who were neutralising antibody-negative at baseline. Efficacy and safety analyses were done in the modified intention-to-treat population, defined as participants who received a complete or partial infusion of tixagevimab–cilgavimab or placebo. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04501978 and the participant follow-up is ongoing. Findings: From Feb 10 to Sept 30, 2021, 1455 patients were randomly assigned and 1417 in the primary modified intention-to-treat population were infused with tixagevimab–cilgavimab (n=710) or placebo (n=707). The estimated cumulative incidence of sustained recovery was 89% for tixagevimab–cilgavimab and 86% for placebo group participants at day 90 in the full cohort (recovery rate ratio [RRR] 1·08 [95% CI 0·97–1·20]; p=0·21). Results were similar in the seronegative subgroup (RRR 1·14 [0·97–1·34]; p=0·13). Mortality was lower in the tixagevimab–cilgavimab group (61 [9%]) versus placebo group (86 [12%]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·70 [95% CI 0·50–0·97]; p=0·032). The composite safety outcome occurred in 178 (25%) tixagevimab–cilgavimab and 212 (30%) placebo group participants (HR 0·83 [0·68–1·01]; p=0·059). Serious adverse events occurred in 34 (5%) participants in the tixagevimab–cilgavimab group and 38 (5%) in the placebo group. Interpretation: Among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 receiving remdesivir and other standard care, tixagevimab–cilgavimab did not improve the primary outcome of time to sustained recovery but was safe and mortality was lower. Funding: US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Operation Warp Speed

Global, regional, and national progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 for neonatal and child health : all-cause and cause-specific mortality findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 has targeted elimination of preventable child mortality, reduction of neonatal death to less than 12 per 1000 livebirths, and reduction of death of children younger than 5 years to less than 25 per 1000 livebirths, for each country by 2030. To understand current rates, recent trends, and potential trajectories of child mortality for the next decade, we present the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 findings for all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality in children younger than 5 years of age, with multiple scenarios for child mortality in 2030 that include the consideration of potential effects of COVID-19, and a novel framework for quantifying optimal child survival. Methods We completed all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality analyses from 204 countries and territories for detailed age groups separately, with aggregated mortality probabilities per 1000 livebirths computed for neonatal mortality rate (NMR) and under-5 mortality rate (USMR). Scenarios for 2030 represent different potential trajectories, notably including potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of improvements preferentially targeting neonatal survival. Optimal child survival metrics were developed by age, sex, and cause of death across all GBD location-years. The first metric is a global optimum and is based on the lowest observed mortality, and the second is a survival potential frontier that is based on stochastic frontier analysis of observed mortality and Healthcare Access and Quality Index. Findings Global U5MR decreased from 71.2 deaths per 1000 livebirths (95% uncertainty interval WI] 68.3-74-0) in 2000 to 37.1 (33.2-41.7) in 2019 while global NMR correspondingly declined more slowly from 28.0 deaths per 1000 live births (26.8-29-5) in 2000 to 17.9 (16.3-19-8) in 2019. In 2019,136 (67%) of 204 countries had a USMR at or below the SDG 3.2 threshold and 133 (65%) had an NMR at or below the SDG 3.2 threshold, and the reference scenario suggests that by 2030,154 (75%) of all countries could meet the U5MR targets, and 139 (68%) could meet the NMR targets. Deaths of children younger than 5 years totalled 9.65 million (95% UI 9.05-10.30) in 2000 and 5.05 million (4.27-6.02) in 2019, with the neonatal fraction of these deaths increasing from 39% (3.76 million [95% UI 3.53-4.021) in 2000 to 48% (2.42 million; 2.06-2.86) in 2019. NMR and U5MR were generally higher in males than in females, although there was no statistically significant difference at the global level. Neonatal disorders remained the leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years in 2019, followed by lower respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, congenital birth defects, and malaria. The global optimum analysis suggests NMR could be reduced to as low as 0.80 (95% UI 0.71-0.86) deaths per 1000 livebirths and U5MR to 1.44 (95% UI 1-27-1.58) deaths per 1000 livebirths, and in 2019, there were as many as 1.87 million (95% UI 1-35-2.58; 37% [95% UI 32-43]) of 5.05 million more deaths of children younger than 5 years than the survival potential frontier. Interpretation Global child mortality declined by almost half between 2000 and 2019, but progress remains slower in neonates and 65 (32%) of 204 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, are not on track to meet either SDG 3.2 target by 2030. Focused improvements in perinatal and newborn care, continued and expanded delivery of essential interventions such as vaccination and infection prevention, an enhanced focus on equity, continued focus on poverty reduction and education, and investment in strengthening health systems across the development spectrum have the potential to substantially improve USMR. Given the widespread effects of COVID-19, considerable effort will be required to maintain and accelerate progress