Saudi women in the media: Saudi and Egyptian perspectives

The aim of this research is trying to differentiate between the way Saudi women see themselves as well as the Saudi males\u27 perception of them; and the way Egyptians perceive them. Such perceptions are ignited by global media arms that have critical roles in shaping and forming opinions or pre-set ideas about Saudi woman. This research is a quantitative study in which two non probability purposive/snowball samples are selected: Egyptian and Saudi. A 400 participant of both nationalities is asked to fill a survey that is created to show the perception they have of Saudi women. Participants included are above the age of 21, highly educated and must watch TV for at least an hour per week; however, the Egyptian participants who have lived, visited Saudi a couple of times for reasons other than religious (Hajj or Omra) will be excluded to ensure that their created perceptions are neither created, enforced or changed by what they saw in real. Television viewership and exposure patterns of Saudis are different than Egyptians. Saudis follow Saudi and foreign news and never watch the Egyptian news channels, while Egyptians tend to follow Egyptian and foreign news and ignore the Saudi news channels. Saudis, on one hand, watch all the entertainment channels available when Egyptians only turn to Egyptian and foreign and never watch Saudi entertainment. When seeking information about Saudi women, Egyptians turn to foreign channels, while Saudis turn to their own local channels. Saudi participants tend to stick more to their initial source of information; whereas Egyptians tend to seek alternative sources than their initial chosen one. In general, Egyptians are considered to be a more active audience than Saudis. Participants from both countries had different perceptions of the different media. Both Saudis and Egyptians agreed that foreign media are the most credible, have the highest quality and most variety; however, they disagreed on which media are the most trusted. Saudis believe that their own Saudi media are the most trusted, while Egyptians believe that foreign media are the most trusted. Moreover, Saudis have a positive perception of their women as well as their country; however, Egyptians have a negative perception of Saudi women and Saudi Arabia. In general, participants with negative perceptions from each country had different TV watching habits. The very few Saudis with a negative perception were light viewers of TV. They never or rarely ever watch Saudi or Egyptian media and sometimes follow foreign media. However, Egyptians with negative perceptions were heavy viewers of TV. They never or rarely watched Saudi media and sometimes watch Egyptian and foreign media

Efficacy of Deferasirox in Preventing Complications of Iron Overload in the Iron Overloaded Gerbil

Iron overload is a significant, world-wide problem that results in several chronic diseases including cardiovascular, hepatic and pancreatic complications.The newly developed, orally effective, iron chelating agent deferasirox is thought to offer tremendous promise as an alternative to deferoxamine. However, the efficacy and safety profile of deferasirox is not yet clear. In the present study, the efficacy of deferasirox in removing iron from target tissues has been examined using the gerbil model of iron overload. Deferasirox administration resulted in a significant reduction of iron from cardiac and hepatic tissue. In addition deferasirox reduced iron induced increase in cardiac and hepatic oxidative stress indices including ferritin expression, superoxide production, protein oxidation, and ERK1/2, P38, and JNK phosphorylation. These results indicate that deferasirox is capable of attenuating iron- induced oxidative stress. Continuing our investigation we observed that iron overload was also associated with an increase in hepatic cell death and upregulation of Bax/Bcl-22, Bad expression, and caspase-3 cleavage. These levels were significantly lower with deferasirox treatment suggesting a protective role against cell death. The primary overall goal of managing iron overload is to reduce/prevent cardiac or other organ complications. In the present study we examined the effect of iron overload on cardiac remodeling and functional parameters, and the effectiveness of chronic deferasirox administration to prevent or reduce these changes using electro- and echocardiographic procedures. Compared to control, iron overload was associated with left ventricular remodeling, arrhythmia, valve regurgitation, and a decline in cardiac function. These changes were highly preserved with deferasirox treatment. Following the preceding studies, we demonstrated a reduction in tissue iron with deferasirox treatment in the iron overloaded gerbil model. The findings of the present report established for the first time that deferasirox treatment is capable of attenuating iron-induced increase in oxidative stress indices, tissue ferritin protein expression, cell death, and more importantly, iron related cardiovascular alterations. These findings suggest that deferasirox may be useful in protection against iron-induced organ damage. The present report also provides data elaborating on the possible mechanism by which iron overload contributes to cellular injury, thereby allowing the development of better therapeutic regimens to control this disorder

A Critical Evaluation and Comparison of Two Formative Measures of System Quality Using Criterion Variables

Evaluating the validity of formative variables has presented ongoing challenges for researchers. In this paper we use global criterion measures to compare and critically evaluate two alternative formative measures of System Quality. One model is based on the ISO-9126 software quality standard, and the other is based on a leading information systems research model. We find that despite both models having a strong provenance, many of the items appear to be non-significant in our study. We examine the implications of this by evaluating the quality of the criterion variables we used, and the performance of PLS when evaluating formative models with a large number of items. We find that our respondents had difficulty distinguishing between global criterion variables measuring different aspects of overall System Quality. Also, because formative indicators “compete with one another” in PLS, it may be difficult to develop a set of measures which are all significant for a complex formative construct with a broad scope and a large number of items. Overall, we suggest that there is cautious evidence that both sets of measures are valid and largely equivalent, although questions still remain about the measures, the use of criterion variables, and the use of PLS for this type of model evaluation

ADSORPTION PERFORMANCE OF MG0.33NI0.33CO0.33FE2O4 NANOPARTICLES DOPED WITH GADOLINIUM AND LANTHANUM FOR LEAD (II) REMOVAL

The issue of water pollution has become a major concern in recent times, and the need for effective strategies for treating contaminated water sources has become more urgent. One promising approach that has been gaining attention in the field of wastewater treatment is the use of nano-ferrites. In this regard, novel Mg0.33Ni0.33Co0.33LaxFe2-xO4 and Mg0.33Ni0.33Co0.33GdxFe2-xO4 nanoparticles (NPs), where x = 0.00, 0.01 and 0.08, were synthesized to test their adsorption performance for the removal of Pb (II). The structural properties and morphology were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As Gd and La content increase, the bandgap energy increases while Urbach energy decreases. The experimental condition for the adsorption process was the adsorbent dosage of 40 mg and contact time of 30, 60, and 90 min at room temperature. Under the recommended conditions, Pb (II) removal % were obtained as 38 %, 41 % and 75 % for Mg0.33Ni0.33Co0.33Fe2O4, Mg0.33Ni0.33Co0.33LaxFe2-xO4 with x = 0.01 and Mg0.33Ni0.33Co0.33GdxFe2-xO4 with x = 0.08, respectively. Therefore, doping ferrite nanoparticles with rare earth metals improve their properties and enable its usage in wastewater treatment particularly for the removal of heavy metals

Anti-inflammatory and immuno-metabolic effects of pinolenic acid in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that causes chronic joint inflammation. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in patients with RA due to accelerated atherosclerosis. In addition, patients have a higher susceptibility to plaque instability and atherothrombosis. Monocytes and macrophages cause synovitis and produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. Despite the increasing number of new treatments, complete long-term disease remission is rarely achieved. Moreover, side effects and safety concerns lead to poor adherence. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommend consuming a healthy and balanced diet to reduce the risk of RA. However, there is no specific recommendation for a specific type of food due to limited scientific evidence. Previous research on omega (n)-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic properties. Preliminary studies on pinolenic acid (PNLA), which is one of the unusual PUFAs found in pine nuts, showed anti-inflammatory actions in cell lines and animal models, while patients’ samples have not been studied. This project aims to explore the therapeutic potential of PNLA in RA and atherosclerosis. Methods: The THP-1 cell line and primary culture of human macrophages were initially used, followed by peripheral blood (PB) samples from RA patients and healthy individuals (HIs). Release of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β after lipopolysaccharide stimulation (LPS) by monocytes and macrophages was measured intra-cellularly and in cell-free supernatants with or without PNLA treatment. RNA sequencing was used to assess the gene expression level of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and purified monocytes. Bioinformatic analyses were used to explore the effects of PNLA on biological pathways. Results: Key pro-atherogenic processes were inhibited by PNLA in vitro and ex vivo. PNLA does not affect the viability or proliferation of the THP-1 cell line, primary culture of macrophages or PBMCs from RA patients or HCs. PNLA attenuated monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) or CCL2-induced monocyte migration, reduced micropinocytosis, and oxidised low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) uptake by macrophages. Gene expression analysis revealed that PNLA attenuated several key pro-inflammatory genes and regulated metabolic genes and transcription factors. Several mitochondrial pathways, such as mitochondrial phosphorylation and mitochondrial dysfunction, were identified as being regulated by PNLA. PNLA also has protective effects as identified by canonical pathways and differentially expressed genes such as pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-4 (PDK4), serine protease inhibitor-1 (SERPIN1), fructose bisphosphate-1 (FBP1), and single-immunoglobulin interleukin-1 receptor-related molecule (SIGIRR). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were discovered to be regulated by PNLA, suggesting potential post-transcriptional regulation of the immune response that has not been described previously. Conclusion: PNLA has anti-inflammatory and metabolic effects in experimental and ex vivo studies in patients with RA. Dietary supplements with PNLA may be beneficial for articular and vascular diseases in patients with RA through their immuno-metabolic effects and can potentially augment current treatments. Therefore, PNLA is a promising dietary element for RA and atherosclerosis. These beneficial effects have been illustrated in this thesis, and the necessary functional studies and clinical trials to further complement this work have also been discussed

Insights into Molecular Structures and Optical Properties of Stacked [Au-3(RN=CR ')(3)](n) Complexes

The molecular structure of stacked cyclic trinuclear gold(I) complexes [Au-3(RN=CR'(3)](n), with n = 1-4, where R = H, methyl (Me), cyclopentyl ((c)Pe), and phenyl (Ph) and R' = OH and methoxy (OMe) were studied computationally at the second-order Moller-Plesset (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) levels of theory. At the DFT level, the aurophilic and dispersion interactions were accounted for by using the TPSS functional in combination with the semiempirical D3 correction. The structure optimizations yielded the lowest energy for a slided stacked structure of the [Au-3(HN=COH)(3)](2) dimer, where monomers are slightly shifted relative to one another. At the MP2 level, the slided structure is 32 kJ/mol more stable than the staggered dimer structure, which in turn is energetically 11 kJ/mol below the eclipsed structure. The calculations show that aromatic ligands lead to a planar and prismatic structure of [Au-3(PhN=COMe)(3)](4), whereas for [Au-3('PeN=COMe)(3)](4), a chair conformation is obtained due to steric effects. Excitation energies were calculated for [Au-3(RN=CR')(3)] and [Au-3(RN=CR'(3)](2) with R = H, Me, and 'Pe and R' = OH and OMe at the time-dependent DFT level using the optimized molecular structures of the singlet ground state. To simulate the luminescence spectra, the lowest triplet excitation energy was also calculated for the molecular structure of the lowest triplet state. The calculated excitation energies of [Au-3(HN=COH)(3)] and [Au-3(HN=COH)(3)](2) are compared with values obtained at the approximate singles and doubles coupled cluster (CC2) and the second-order algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC(2)) levels of theory. The calculated absorption and emission energies reproduce the experimental trends, with extremely large Stokes shifts. A solvoluminescence mechanism is also proposed.Peer reviewe

Association of placenta praevia with repeat cesarean section in Omdurman Maternity Hospital, Sudan 2010- 2012

Background: Several risk factors for placenta praevia exist, including  previous cesarean section(C/S). This association has been investigated long time ago, however in this hospital there is no documented evidence. This study was done to assess the risk of placenta praevia based on number of previous cesarean sections.Methods: A hospital-based study, at Omdurman maternity hospital- OMH during; January 2010-December 2012. Deliveries in OMH were reviewed by trained registrars. Patients diagnosed prenatally or during delivery as  placenta praevia were included. All women operated were followed till  discharge from hospital.Results: Total number of deliveries during the study period is 94758.Of them 68415 (72.2%) delivered vaginally and 26343 (27.8%) by C/S.Of the latter 10643 (40.4%) underwent elective and 15700 (59.6%) emergency CS.448 (0.5%) were diagnosed as placenta praevia. Placenta praevia was more common in patients with scarred uterus being found a 250 out of 9853 CS (2.5%). Its frequency increased with the number of uterine scars: one scar; (1.7%), (RR = 1.45, CI= 1.12-1.88), 2-4 scars (2.8%), (RR = 2.32, CI= 1.87-2.87) & five or more scars; (12.7%), (RR = 10.54, CI= 7.34-15.13). Nineteen patients (7.6%) had adherent placenta, (RR = 42.41, CI =5.69-315.83), 68(15.2%) had history of dilatation and  curettage (D&C) or evacuation,(RR = 1.5, CI = 1.18-1.94), 37 (8.3%) had previous history of placenta praevia, (RR= 8.30, CI = 6.17- 11.19). Threematernal deaths were encountered (0.7%).Conclusion: The frequency of placenta praevia in this study increased with increasing number of previous C/S, and was associated with adverse  feto-maternal outcome. This study provides a reason to reduce primary C/S and encouraging vaginal birth after C/S (VBAC).Key words: Placenta praevia. Repeated cesarean section. Sudan

حكم تبرع المرأة بمالها الخاص دون إذن زوجها: دراسة مقارنة بين الفقه الإسلامي والقانون الأردني Ruling on a Woman Donating Her Own Money Without Her Husband’s Permission: A Comparative Study between Islamic Jurisprudence and Jordanian Law

ملخص يستعرض هذا البحث موضوعاً في غاية الأهمية ألا وهو تبرع المرأة بمالها دون إذن زوجها، وهي دراسة فقهية قانونية، سعت لإظهار أحكام هذا الموضوع، ولأجل تحقيق هدف الدراسة اتبعت الباحثة المنهج الاستنباطي، والمنهج التحليلي من أجل تجلية مفردات البحث، والخروج برؤية شرعية عن موضوع الدراسة، وقد بيّن البحث أن للمرأة البالغة العاقلة الراشدة ذمة مالية مستقلة، وأن لها حرية التصرف بمالها في عقود التبرعات المالية دون اعتبار إذن الزوج في ذلك، حتى وإن زاد المال عن الثلث، وقد جاءت نصوص القانون الأردني مؤيدة لهذا الأمر. الكلمات المفتاحية: التبرع، ذمة المرأة المالية، عقود التبرعات، الفقه الإسلامي، القانون الأردني Abstract This research reviews a crucial topic, namely a woman’s donation of her money without her husband’s permission, which is a legal jurisprudence study, for which this study aims to show the ruling of this case. To achieve the objectives of this study, the researcher adopted the deductive and analytical methods to clarify the concepts used in the research and conclude with a legal vision of the subject of the study. The research showed that an adult, sane, reasonable woman has an independent financial responsibility, and she has the freedom to dispose of her money in financial donation contracts without considering her husband’s permission, even if the money exceeds one-third. The provisions of Jordanian law support this conclusion. Keywords: Donation, Women\u27s financial responsibility, Donation contracts, Islamic jurisprudence, Jordanian la

Food taboos among residents at Ashongman - Accra, Ghana

A cross sectional survey was conducted in Ashongman Village with the aim of investigating respondents’ knowledge, the extent of belief, reasons (if any) behind their existence and knowledge about the effects of food taboos. A total of 200 adults selected purposively were interviewed. Data collected was coded, entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (S.P.S.S. Version 18). The Pearson’s chi-square test was used to test the relationship between education, ethnic groups and the belief and adherence to food taboos. Most respondents were females (55%), 30 years and above (67%), single (59%) , Christians (93%) and some form of formal education. The study sample belonged to varied ethnic groups with the main group being Akans (47%). Analysis of the data revealed 60% of respondents had knowledge about food taboos but only 37% actually believed and adhered to them. Fifty-seven (57%) of foods prohibited were of animal origin whiles 43% were of plant origin. Various reasons ranging from cultural, religious, health, magical thinking, ethics, sympathy and compassion were given to explain the prevalence and adherence to food taboos. It was also realized that most respondents had knowledge about the harmful effect of the adherence to food taboos. Education was an important factor realized as being responsible for the prevalence of food taboos. It was recommended that further research on food taboos and food security among specific groups especially the vulnerable in society (i.e. women and children) be conducted.  Secondly, because of the nutritional implications for adhering to food taboos in developing countries, a subtle community nutrition campaign needs to be organized by relevant stakeholders to sensitize people about the effect of adhering to food taboos. Keywords: Food taboos