Arabic reading: normal behaviour and treatment in patients with hemianopic alexia

In reading research, reading speed (single-word reading and text-reading) and eye movement efficiency is used to investigate cognitive processes during reading. Specifically, I am interested in reading speed and eye movement behaviour in Arabic-reading normal adults and patients with Hemianopic Alexia (HA) while reading Arabic text. Following a hemianopia (most commonly caused by stroke), a patient’s reading ability may be affected, and this may be exacerbated depending on the visual and orthographic complexity of the language. Research on Arabic reading is scarce, and no empirical studies on Arabic readers with HA have been conducted; thus, little is known about the performance of Arabic readers with HA. Almost all of the world literature on acquired alexia (of any form) is on left-toright-reading patients. There are 234 million Arabic readers in the Arab states (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2014). So, if a stroke occurs, approximately 20% of these readers with a stroke may develop HA (Isaeff, Wallar, Duncan, 1974). HA has a negative impact on reading and related activities of daily living. If work heavily depends on reading, then their job may be at risk. The primary aim of my thesis was to help these patients. By developing a novel online assessment and treatment package (an app) for Arabic readers with HA called Arabic-Read Right (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/aphasialab/apps/arabic_rr.html) I hoped to 1) develop suitable materials to aid in the clinical diagnosis of HA and 2) provide effective and empirically supported reading treatment for HA Arabic readers. I did this in a series of experiments designed to (i) contribute to our overall understanding of Arabic reader’s reading speed and eye movements, (ii) expand on our understanding of oculomotor processing in Arabic, and (iii) investigate text reading and eye movements in Arabic-reading patients with HA, both before and after treatment with a developed online rehabilitation assessment and treatment package: Arabic-Read Right

Lung cancer: risk factors, management, and prognosis

Lung cancer or lung tumor the most common cause of cancer death in men and second most common in women after breast cancer. Highest rates in North America, Europe, and East Asia, with one third of new cases in China, lower rates in Africa and South Asia. Worldwide in 2012 lung cancer resulted in 1.6 million deaths. Risk factors include smoking, exposure to radon gas, asbestos, second-hand smoke, air pollution, and geneticfactors. Pathogenesis is similar to other cancers, by activation of oncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Two main types of lung cancer are small-cell lung carcinoma(SCLC),and non-small-cell lung carcinoma(NSCLC) Clinical manifestation include coughing, coughing blood, weight loss, weakness, fever or clubbing of the fingernails, hypercalcemia, myasthenia syndrome (muscle weakness), and metastases. Metastatic disease includes weight loss, bone pain and neurological symptoms. Diagnosis mainly by chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans. Lung cancers are classified according to histological type, staging uses TNM (tumor, lymph node and metastases) system. Management depends on cancer specific type, by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the U.S 16.8% survive for at least five years, in England overall five year survival less than 10%.Prevention, cessation of smoking, screening for lung cancer for those long smoking history and between 55 and 80 years. Long term intake of vitamin A,vitamin vitamin D, or vitamin E does not reduce risk of lung cancer. Higher intake of vegetables and fruit tend to lower risk. There is no clear association between diet and lung cancer

Effects of Clinical Training and Case Difficulty on the Radiographic Quality of Root Canal Fillings Performed by Dental Students in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of training duration and case difficulty on the radiographic quality of root canal fillings performed by dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods and Materials: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted at King Saud University. Root canal treatments performed by 55 dental students from 2012-2014 were included in the study. Each student treated at least five teeth during the first year of clinical endodontic training and another five teeth during the second year. Case difficulty was assessed based on tooth position in the dental arch and preoperative conditions. The radiographic quality of the root canal filling was evaluated by two endodontists blinded to treatment completion date. The evaluation criteria were adequate obturation, presence of mishaps and preparation taper. The data were statistically analysed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses; and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Inadequate obturation and mishaps were significantly less prevalent in teeth treated after 2 years of clinical training. The odds ratios for inadequate obturation and mishaps increased significantly as tooth position moved posteriorly. Inadequate obturation and more mishaps were significantly more prevalent in teeth with preoperative conditions. Preparation taper was not significantly affected by training duration or case difficulty. Conclusion: The quality of root canal fillings performed by Saudi students was adversely affected by case difficulty. The radiographic quality of root canal fillings improved significantly after 2 years of clinical training. Preparation taper outcome is likely dependent on the preparation technique and instrument taper.Keywords: Obturation Density; Obturation Length; Preparation Taper; Procedural Accident; Root Canal Treatmen

Crystal structure of (Z)-4-methylbenzyl 3-[1-(5-methylpyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]dithiocarbazate

In the title dithiocarbazate compound, C17H19N3S2, the central CN2S2 residue is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0288 Å) and forms dihedral angles of 9.77 (8) and 77.47 (7)° with the substituted-pyridyl and p-tolyl rings, respectively, indicating a highly twisted molecule; the dihedral angle between the rings is 85.56 (8)°. The configuration about the C=N bond is Z, which allows for the formation of an intramolecular N—H...N(pyridyl) hydrogen bond. The packing features tolyl-methyl-C—H...N(imine), pyridyl-C—H...π(tolyl) and π–π interactions [between pyridyl rings with a distance = 3.7946 (13) Å], which generates jagged supramolecular layers that stack along the b axis with no directional interactions between them

Some Properties of Semiconductor-Ferroelectric Structures

This paper presents the properties of semiconductor-ferroelectric structures consisting of ZnO nanorods grown at low temperatures by the hydrothermal method on LiNbO3 and LiNbO3:Fe substrates. The resulting structures were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, photoluminescence, and spectrophotometry. SEM images and spectra, absorption spectra, and photoluminescence spectra in the ultraviolet and visible ranges are presented. The studies have shown the possibility of using, along with others, the hydrothermal method for synthesizing Zn(NO3)26H2O and C6H12N4 to obtain arrays of ZnO nanorods as a sensitive element of surfactant-based UV radiation sensors

Breast cancer: detection markers, prognosis, and prevention

Breast cancer is the common invasive cancer with high mortality worldwide. High incidence of breast cancer in South and central America, Southren, Northren, Westren Europe, Ocenia and North America. Lowest breast cancer incidence in Africa and Asia. Risk factors includes: female sex old age, lifestyle, oralcontraceptive, hormone replacement therapy, mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1orBRCA2.alcohol intake, hereditary factors, and exposure to chemicals. Breast cancer occurs because of an interaction between external factor and genetically susceptible host. Frequent symptoms of breast cancer is typically a lump and lumps found in the lymph node in the armpits. Diagnosis by physical examination of the breast and mammography. Further tests include histopathological examination, breast cells grading by TNM systeme.g., Zero stage a precancerous or marker condition, stage 1- 3 within the breast and regional nodes, and stage four is metastatic stage. Management of breast cancer depends on the stage of the cancer and age of the patient. Usually treated with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy or both. A multidisciplinary approach is preferable. Metastatic cancer has less favorable prognosis. Prognosis is usually the probability of progression-free survival(PFS) or disease free survival(DFS).Prevention include change in life style, maintaining healthy weight, less alcohol consumption, and intake of marine omega-3 and soy-based foods Prophylactic mastectomy(removal of both breasts) helps in people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Early detection of breast cancer has better prognosis

Competing biosecurity and risk rationalities in the Chittagong poultry commodity chain, Bangladesh

This paper anthropologically explores how key actors in the Chittagong live bird trading network perceive biosecurity and risk in relation to avian influenza between production sites, market maker scenes and outlets. They pay attention to the past and the present, rather than the future, downplaying the need for strict risk management, as outbreaks have not been reported frequently for a number of years. This is analysed as ‘temporalities of risk perception regarding biosecurity’, through Black Swan theory, the idea that unexpected events with major effects are often inappropriately rationalized (Taleb in The Black Swan. The impact of the highly improbable, Random House, New York, 2007). This incorporates a sociocultural perspective on risk, emphasizing the contexts in which risk is understood, lived, embodied and experienced. Their risk calculation is explained in terms of social consent, practical intelligibility and convergence of constraints and motivation. The pragmatic and practical orientation towards risk stands in contrast to how risk is calculated in the avian influenza preparedness paradigm. It is argued that disease risk on the ground has become a normalized part of everyday business, as implied in Black Swan theory. Risk which is calculated retrospectively is unlikely to encourage investment in biosecurity and, thereby, points to the danger of unpredictable outlier events

Calculation of the Total Current Generated in a Tunnel Diode Under the Action of Microwave and Magnetic Fields

In this paper, a formula was derived for calculating the total current generated in a tunnel diode under the action of a microwave field and a magnetic field. In addition, the dependence of the total current of the tunnel diode on the total power induced by the microwave field is theoretically presented and compared with experimental data. For the total current in the tunnel diode, without taking into account the excess current, volt-ampere characteristics was obtained for cases with and without the influence of a microwave field