Protocol study: Sexual and reproductive health knowledge, information-seeking behaviour and attitudes among Saudi women: A questionnaire survey of university students

Copyright © 2014 Farih et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background - Sexual and reproductive health (SRH), a basic right for women worldwide, is infrequently researched in countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). No empirical studies of SRH among Saudi women exist. This protocol describes a study to explore the SRH knowledge, information-seeking behaviour and attitudes of Saudi female university students. Methods/Design - This study will administer a questionnaire survey to female students at 13 universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was developed following a literature search to identify relevant content, with psychometrically tested tools used when available. The content layout and the wording and order of the questions were designed to minimize the risk of bias. The questionnaire has been translated into Arabic and piloted in preparation for administration to the study sample. Ethical approval for the study has been granted (reference no. QMREC2012/54). After questionnaire administration, the data will be collated, analysed and reported anonymously. The findings will be published in compliance with reporting guidelines for survey research. Discussion - This study will be the first to provide fundamental information concerning Saudi females university students SRH knowledge and information needs.King Abdullah Scholarship Program, Saudi Arabi

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Heat Modification of Wood: Chemical Properties and Resistance to Mold and Decay Fungi

The resistance of heat modified sugi (Crvptomeria japonica D) sapwood against mold and decay fungi was evaluated under laboratory conditions Wood specimens were subjected to heat treatment at 180 C for 2 and 4 hours and at 220 C for 2 hours Changes in lignin and polysaccharide weight percent composition, solubility, and pH of heat-modified specimens were determined Treatment at 220 C for 2 hours decreased wood polysaccharide content Heat treatment slightly increased resistance against Rhizopus javanicus and Gliocladium (Trichoderma) wrens but not against Aspergillus rage, The highest temperature used increased resistance to decay by the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor but mass losses with the brown-rot fungus Fomitopsis palustris were higher than those with T versicolo

Heat Modification of Wood: Chemical Properties and Resistance to Mold and Decay Fungi

The resistance of heat modified sugi (Crvptomeria japonica D) sapwood against mold and decay fungi was evaluated under laboratory conditions Wood specimens were subjected to heat treatment at 180 C for 2 and 4 hours and at 220 C for 2 hours Changes in lignin and polysaccharide weight percent composition, solubility, and pH of heat-modified specimens were determined Treatment at 220 C for 2 hours decreased wood polysaccharide content Heat treatment slightly increased resistance against Rhizopus javanicus and Gliocladium (Trichoderma) wrens but not against Aspergillus rage, The highest temperature used increased resistance to decay by the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor but mass losses with the brown-rot fungus Fomitopsis palustris were higher than those with T versicolo

Chitosan-based wet-spun scaffolds for bioactive agent delivery

Use of scaffolds both as supporting materials at defect site and delivery vehicles for bioactive agents is a commonly employed strategy to aid in tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, fibrous meshes of chitosan were prepared by wet spinning and coated with alginate. BSA as a model protein and gentamicin as a model antibiotic were incorporated into the scaffolds in multiple loading models and their release kinetics were studied. The effects of structural form of scaffold and properties of bioactive agents on release profiles were evaluated. Our results suggest that, designed scaffolds are potential candidates for tissue engineering with the feature of controlled bioactive agent delivery. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3759-3769, 2013 Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Role of various nano-particles in prevention of fungal decay, mold growth and termite attack. in wood, and their effect on weathering properties and water repellency

The resistance of Scots pine wood vacuum-treated with nano-particles of ZnO, B2O3, CuO, TiO2, CeO2, and SnO2 against decay, mold fungi and subterranean termites was evaluated. Weathering and water absorption properties were also studied. Nano-ZnO only was resistant against leaching, while the other compounds leached out from wood specimens at more than 60% release rates. Mold growth in wood specimens was significantly inhibited by treatment with nano-ZnO and nano-B2O3. In Petri dishes, all mold fungi were also inhibited by nano-ZnO and nano-B2O3; however, nano-SnO2 inhibited Trichoderma harzianum growth only. Weight loss from fungal attack by the brown-rot fungus was significantly inhibited by all nano-compounds tested, except for leached specimens of nano-B2O3 treatments. Considerably higher weight losses were obtained in decay resistance tests by the white rot fungus; only nano-CuO and nano-SnO2 were effective against this fungus. Nano-CuO and nano B2O3 treatments produced favorable termite resistance in both weathered and unweathered specimens, while nano-ZnO and nano-CeO2 resulted in decreased weight loss in specimens exposed to termites. Nano-ZnO was slightly effective in decreasing water absorption. Exposing untreated wood specimens to artificial weathering resulted in significant changes in the chemical structure as determined by FT-IR analysis; however, weathering effect was somewhat decreased by the incorporation of the nano-compounds. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved