A novel polyelectrolyte complex between amphiphilic poly (allyl amine) and sodium alginate.

Polyelectrolytes are charge-carrying polymers. When two oppositely-charged polyelectrolytes are combined in a solution favouring charge expression, a polyelectrolyte complex can result. These complexes have been shown to be useful in the field of drug delivery in general. Amphiphilic polyelectrolytes contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups as part of their structure; these amphiphilic polymers have shown interesting results in the field of protein and peptide delivery. Peptides and proteins are natural polyelectrolytes, and have been used in combination with other charged polymers in the delivery of peptide drugs. The oral route of delivery for peptides and proteins has many barriers, but is of great interest due to its potential to improve patients' adherence to medications. In this study, poly (allyl amine) and sodium alginate were used to produce a polyelectrolyte complex with the peptide insulin, with a view to investigating one of a number of barriers preventing the peptides' oral delivery - namely its enzymatic cleavage by alpha-chymotrypsin. Poly (allyl amine) was prepared from poly (allyl amine) hydrochloride. Amphiphilic derivatives were prepared using palmitic acid-N-hydroxy succinamide, and resulted in 3.7% and 5.1% palmitoyl-grafted poly (allyl amine), based on elemental analysis. Furthermore, samples were quaternised using methyl iodide, resulting in samples with degrees of quaternisation of 18% and 35%, based on elemental analysis. Alginate/poly (allyl amine) complexes were analysed at a number of mass ratios and using a number of techniques, including: dynamic light scattering; differential scanning calorimetry with hot-stage microscopy; zeta potential; and infra-red analysis. Results showed that alginate and the different derivatives of poly (allyl amine) resulted in nano-sized aggregates, with estimated hydrodynamic diameters ranging from 130-400nm. Thermal analysis showed that complexation appeared to have resulted in changes in the thermal decomposition temperatures of polymers. Variations in the vibrational frequencies of infra-red results for analysed samples were used as evidence of polyelectrolyte interactions. Zeta potential of select samples resulted in values > 50mV, indicating good colloidal stability of nano-aggregates. Transmission electron microscopy showed the formation of distinct spherical particles, and agglomerations of spherical and needle shaped particles. Polyelectrolyte complexes of poly (allyl amine), sodium alginate and insulin were prepared at a different pH, but were investigated using similar methods to complexes of poly (allyl amine) and sodium alginate without insulin. Dynamic light scattering results showed the formation of complexes with estimated hydrodynamic diameters of 150-200nm. Thermal analysis showed changes in the thermal decomposition temperatures of complexes compared to individual polyelectrolytes. Infra-red analysis showed small variations in vibrational frequencies, which were seen as signs of electrostatic interaction. Reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography was used in enzymatic studies to ascertain whether prepared polyelectrolyte complexes were capable of protecting insulin from the enzymatic activity of alpha-chymotrypsin. Results showed that complexes appeared to increase the susceptibility of insulin to enzymatic cleavage, with results after two hours of incubation with alpha-chymotrypsin showing < 5% remaining insulin for complexes. In comparison, the insulin control showed approximately 35% remaining peptide after two hours in the presence of the enzyme. The polyelectrolytes used appeared to result in stable complexes, maintained by a combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. However, these interaction also appeared to lead to increased degradation of insulin by alpha-chymotrypsin

Assessing the relationship between information transparency through social media disclosure and firm value / Abdalmuttaleb M.A Musleh Al-Sartawi.

The aim of this paper is to show the relationship between social media financial disclosure and firm value of the GCC listed firms. To answer the research questions, the researchers collected cross-sectional data from a sample of 241 firms listed in the financial stock markets of the GCC for the year 2017. An Index was used to calculate the total level of social media financial disclosure where the SMFD for each firm was calculated by dividing the total earned scores of the firm by the total maximum possible scores appropriate for the firm. The findings show that the 84% of firms in the GCC countries use social media, while 70% of these firms use the SM for financial disclosure. The results also confirm the hypothesis that enhanced disclosure levels through various social media channels of GCC listed firms significantly influence the firm value of these firms. These results have implications for both the social media disclosure literature and value relevance literature in the GCC countries

Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and Perceived Performance of Employees in Jordanian Hospitals

The relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance is an important topic in the organizational sciences, but little research examining this relationship in hospital settings has been conducted. This study aims to quantify the effects of HRM practices on employee performance in 5 hospitals in Jordan. A descriptive survey design was used, wherein data was collected from all the staff of each hospital using questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation and regression analyses. The results demonstrate that HRM practices have an impact on performance, that Jordanian hospitals do not have effective HRM practices, and that compensation has the greatest impact on increasing an employee’s level of performance. Keywords: Jordanian Hospitals, human resource management practices, hospital performance

Spatiotemporal control of siponimod delivery for the regeneration of critical bone defects

Tissue engineering aims at regenerating damaged tissue by using synthetic or natural materials and has applications across the different tissue types, including bone. A major challenge in bone tissue engineering includes the availability of materials that possess desirable properties including osteogenic potential, as well as osteoconductive and osteoinductive features to support bone regeneration, this challenge is magnified in the case of critical bone defects. The gold-standard treatment for such defects is autologous bone grafting, which suffers from issues related to the availability of material and the morbidity associated with surgeries to harvest the tissue. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative materials and therapeutic options that may contribute to improving the outcomes of bone tissue engineering issues. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the therapeutic potential of the small drug molecule, siponimod, to influence key cell process inherent in bone regeneration and to investigate the formulation design, functionality and regenerative potential of suitable scaffold constructs that exert spatiotemporal control over siponimod delivery both in vitro and in an in vivo critical defect model. Chapter 1 provided a general introduction of key concepts discussed throughout the thesis including a background on bone anatomy and biology. Thereafter, the chapter introduced tissue engineering in general with a focus on intrinsic aspects of bone tissue engineering namely scaffolds, cells, and signals. It described the key requirements in the design of scaffolds suitable for bone regeneration and provided an overview of the materials and techniques used in the fabrication of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. In particular it highlighted, the materials used throughout this thesis, such as the natural and synthetic polymers collagen and poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) used in Chapter 4 & 5, and the bioactive ceramic hydroxyapatite (HA) used in Chapter 5. This first chapter also addressed the use of protein and small molecule signal therapeutics in bone tissue engineering, including a brief introduction of sphingosine 1-phosphate. Chapter 2 thus followed with an in-depth review of the role of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in bone biology and its potential therapeutic use in bone repair. The role of S1P in nervous, cardiovascular, and immune systems is well established, however, knowledge regarding its role in bone biology and the utility of specific S1P receptor modulation in bone repair was lacking. Therefore, Chapter 2 not only aimed to add to the available literature on the role of S1P signalling in bone repair, but also to contribute to the identification of S1P mediated processes that could be targeted therapeutically. The culmination of the review in Chapter 2 was the selection of S1P1 receptor modulation as a target, and siponimod as a selective agonist for further investigation. Thereafter, Chapter 3 investigated the in vitro bone regenerative potential of the S1P receptor modulator, siponimod. Specifically, it aimed to identify the impact of siponimod on key cellular processes including cell viability, proliferation, differentiation and migration using human foetal osteoblasts (hFOB), as well as cell proliferation and migration using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The hypothesis underpinning Chapter 3 was that selective S1P1 signalling using the S1P1/5 agonist, siponimod would stimulate osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and migration as well as endothelial cell proliferation and migration. The results of this chapter showed for the first time that siponimod indeed promotes osteoblast differentiation while having no influence on viability and proliferation. Siponimod was also shown to promote the chemokinesis of endothelial cells, whereby it interfered with cell attachment and migration in the short-term (4 hrs) and caused a delayed (8 hrs) stimulation of endothelial migration. Taken together these results suggested that siponimod was worthy of further investigation in the context of bone regeneration. However, the balance of evidence in the bone repair literature supports the use of a localised delivery approach for sphingolipids, rather than systemic administration. This was the motivation supporting the research in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, which investigated suitable scaffold constructs for the localised delivery of siponimod. Therefore, the hypothesis underpinning Chapter 4 was that the design of a biocompatible and biodegradable polymeric scaffold would control the presentation of siponimod in a stable and functional manner at appropriate concentrations and over relevant timeframes to exploit its potential for enhanced bone regeneration. This chapter thus detailed the preparation, characterisation and in vitro assessment of PLGA-based electrospun material coupled with collagen and loaded with siponimod at different concentrations (0.5-2 % w/w). The physicochemical characteristics including drug stability in the solid and liquid state as well as drug loading and release properties were investigated. Additionally, in vitro cell-based investigations were carried out on the electrospun material to assess its compatibility with the cellular populations of interest, hFOB and HUVEC, and whether the released siponimod maintained the functional effects determined in Chapter 3. Results confirmed our hypothesis that siponimod could be successfully loaded with high efficiencies (80-94 %) and its release could be controlled in a stable manner (> 3 months), which was in line with a planned 12-week in vivo cranial defect study. Furthermore, the released siponimod maintained its differentiation and migration effects on hFOB and HUVEC in vitro. The scaffolds were then implanted in rat critical cranial defects for 12-weeks to assess in vivo effectiveness of the siponimod loaded scaffold. Results showed that while there was some reduction in defect size, there was no statistically significant differences between the experimental groups regarding the histomorphometrically determined area of mineralisation within the defect space. The scaffold described in Chapter 5 was designed contemporaneously with the electrospun scaffold in Chapter 4, although only the latter design was progressed to the stage of in vivo analysis. Acknowledging this, Chapter 5 provided a preliminary description of the design and characterisation of another scaffold design using electrospray-microparticles loaded with siponimod. As with the electrospun scaffold, this alternative design is based on a similar hypothesis that localised delivery of siponimod for bone regeneration was superior to systemic delivery. The microparticles were mould compressed with HA, the calcium phosphate mineral reminiscent of that found in native bone tissue, and a porogen, prior to high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) foaming and porogen leaching. The morphological properties of the microparticles and the completed scaffolds were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Physicochemical properties investigated included porosity, mechanical properties, siponimod drug loading and release, and cell culture studies to assess the scaffold’s effect on hFOB and HUVEC. Results of SEM showed that the diameters of microparticles was increased by the inclusion of siponimod, while scaffolds possessed a highly porous internal structure, with morphology affected by the inclusion of HA. Drug loading efficiency was lower than those seen in Chapter 4, which was expected due to the method employed, although drug release was still sustained over 3 months. The scaffolds were found to be compatible with hFOB and HUVEC, whether seeded in direct or indirect contact with scaffolds and no significant changes to cell metabolic activity were observed. In conclusion, this thesis showed that S1P receptors have a clear impact on the biology of bone repair, with novel findings contributing to our understanding of siponimod’s in vitro effect on osteoblasts and endothelial cells, which could lead to siponimod-based therapeutic options for bone and other tissue regeneration applications. This thesis also detailed the first designs of controlled release scaffolds for siponimod, with the S1P1 agonist successfully incorporated into two different scaffolds using both electrospinning and electrospraying production methods, which enabled constructs with different compositions and physical properties to be designed. Although in vivo results of cranial defect studies did not provide statistically significant evidence of improved bone regeneration, both scaffold designs demonstrated promising cell compatibility and drug release properties, that can be further optimised to fully utilise the bone regenerative potential of siponimod and other S1P agonists

E-services and M-services Using IoT: An Assessment of the Kingdom of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain has been reported as the pioneers of the e-government within the Arabian Gulf region. Such particularly is the pride reflective within the healthcare sector. With e-government ranked first among all Arab countries and thirteen worldwide, e-health paved new heights. Its successes further resonated during the COVID-19 era. Various stakeholders in the healthcare sector moved beyond e-services. Thanks to the Internet of Things, have been able to appreciate m-health. It is certain, that the country practiced strategies to assure itself towards a fast-growing Internet users base, and this is particularly evidenced through its citizens and the expat populations. The aim of this study is to explore how the Kingdom of Bahrain was able to succeed in its e-service, e-government, and e-health services to transform from a bureaucratic model to a new IoT based m-health and m-government paradigm. A content analysis of the Kingdom of Bahrain intellectual resources, i.e., their websites as well as journal and conference papers, etc., this chapter extends an overview of how Bahrain was able to transform to an e/m-government and e/m-health paradigm, along with theoretical and practical implication with suggestions for future research are also put forth in this chapter

Can understanding worldviews help promote a more positive culture of science in Kuwait?

by Martin W. Bauer, Mohammad Sartawi & Gordon Sammut  Formulating policy in any science-related field – health, clean energy, the environment – is not without its challenges. This is particularly true for Kuwait where, despite the abundance of policy papers written by competent bodies, very little implementation and impact is felt on the ground. Social psychology could perhaps provide solutions from its massive body of theories and concepts, and guide more effective policy formulation that would see better uptake by populations and impact on the ground. Specifically, social psychology could offer some insights into the receptivity of various individuals to different types of themes that may be present in the discourse of a given policy area

الواقع التنظيمي لمهنة تدقيق الحسابات في فلسطين دراسة تحليليه للقوانين والتشريعات المنظمة لمهنة تدقيق الحسابات في فلسطين

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى مدى انسجام وتناغم مسؤوليات وواجبات مدقق الحسابات التي بين النصوص في القوانين والتشريعات التي تعني بتنظيم مهنة تدقيق الحسابات في فلسطين ومدى انسجام تلك النصوص مع معايير التدقيق الدولية.وكانت بيانات الدراسة من قانون مزاولة مهنة تدقيق الحسابات الفلسطيني رقم (9) للعام 2004 وكافة القوانين المنظمة لمهنة تدقيق الحسابات المطبقة في فلسطين. بالاضافة الى معايير التدقيق الدولية. وتم تنباع المنهج تحليل المحتوى والمضمون لجميع النصوص القانونيه التي تتعلق بتظيم مهنة التدقيق. أظهرت نتائج الدراسة أنه لا يوجد تناغم او انسجام بين النصوص الشريعية نفسها بما يخص مسؤوليات وواجبات مدقق الحسابات وما بين النصوص التشريعيه او التعليمات ومعايير التدقيق الدوليه وبالتالي يمكن تفسيرها بطريق مختلفة مما يزيد من مسؤوليات مدقق الحسابات وهذا يتناقض مع معايير التدقيق الدولية، ويوصي الباحث بضرورة مراجعة جميع النصوص القانونيه الخاصة بمهنة تدقيق الحسابات والعمل على توحيدها بما يتلائم مع معايير التدقيق الدوليه