Attitudes towards shoplifting: a preliminary cross-cultural study of consumers

Shoplifting has a substantial impact on retailers, consumers and wider society, yet we know very little about people‟s attitudes towards this behaviour, especially from a non-Western perspective. A better understanding of consumer misbehaviour in Arabic countries would therefore be of particular interest as such societies represent a new market for global retailers. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the initial results of consumers‟ attitudes towards shoplifting from a cross-cultural perspective. Preliminary analysis of 529 questionnaire responses from UK, US and Libyan consumers finds that attitudes towards shoplifting are broadly similar despite the different cultural and retail contexts. However, on closer inspection these findings suggest interesting disparities between the countries in relation to attitudes towards the consequences of shoplifting, the impact it has on the social networks of the perpetrator and whether the demographics of the shoplifter play a role in the decision to punish the offender

The prevalence of ptsd and depression among Gaza children

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic distress disorder (PTSD) and depression among children in Gaza, Palestine. Methodology: This study assessed the psychological effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on children in the Gaza Strip. 286 children aged 9-14 years old, who were exposed to a wide range of war events, were selected from the Gaza Strip to participate in this study. All participants conducted the following scales: the child PTSD Reaction Index(CPTSD-RI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Arabic version for PTSD and depression assessment. Finding: The results show that the mean number of participants witnessing home destroyed and people killed was (88%) and home invasion (76%). Approximately 70% of the participants reported that they witnessed war violence against at least one of their family members. Further, 44 % of the children have a least one death in their family due to the Israeli invasion. Using t-tests, we found that significantly more females have both PTSD and depression than males. Approximately 32.8% of the participants met the criteria for severe depression, and 42.6 % met the criteria for PTSD. Implications: Our results suggest that it is imperative to provide intervention programs to treat PTSD and depression symptoms among children in Gaza. These programs should take into account the cultural and religious background of the participants. Originality: This investigation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to an increase in PTSD and depression symptoms among children in the Gaza Strip. - Hamza et al.Scopu

A rare urachal abscess in a young bull with conservative management

Background: The urachus is an embryonic remnant occurring as a result of the involution of the allantoic duct and the ventral cloaca. This canal becomes progressively obliterated after birth. It uncommonly persists to different degrees after birth. Case Description: A young bull was presented with distended abdomen and clinical signs of chocking, with low-grade fever, loss of appetite, frothy mouth arched back. On the first inspection, the animal was suspected to have simple indigestion. The treatment was attempted in this stage by introducing a stomach tube but only little relief was achieved. Therefore, 5 days later, an exploratory laparotomy was done and a big balloon-like cyst structure extended ventro-latrally in the abdominal cavity was noticed. That structure was located on the floor of the abdominal cavity extending from the pelvic rim caudally to the umbilical region cranially. The structure was then incised and evacuated and a rubber tube was fixed for constant drainage for up to one month later. The bull was followed-up and made a good recovery after a month post-surgery. Conclusion: We found that urachal abscess could be treated simply via surgical evacuation of the abscess and proper drainage for some time with a very promising outcome. Additionally, this affection can be diagnosed based on history, clinical signs, and exploratory surgery, when relatively modern diagnostic techniques are not available

Histological study on the effect of transplanted human umbilical cord blood CD34+ stem cells on albino rats subjected to myocardial infarction

Background: Heart failure is a significant burden to health care systems in the world. One of its major causes is myocardial infarction (MI). Recent developments in stem cells may offer ways to manage heart failure by replacing damaged cardiac muscle with healthy tissue. This study aimed at examining the regenerative effect of intravenously transplanted human umbilical cord blood CD34+ stem cell in a rat model of acute MI. Methods: Forty adult female rats were equally randomized into 5 groups. Groups I and II received saline alone or saline followed by isolation buffer respectively to serve as control groups. The other 3 groups were subjected to induction of acute MI using subcutaneous injection of isoprenaline hydrochloride. In groups III and IV, animals were sacrificed after one week and four weeks respectively. One week after induction of MI, animals in group V received intravenous injection of 4 x 106 CD34+ stem cells separated from the human umbilical cord blood of male fetuses, and were sacrificed after 3 weeks from cell injection. At the end of the experiment, heart tissue was processed for both light and electron microscopic histological studies, and for PCR analysis of the male-specific SRY gene. Results: Light microscopic results of group III revealed increased diameter and necrosis of cardiomyocytes, decreased cross-striations, vascular congestion and mononuclear cellular infiltration. Group IV revealed multiple extensive fibrotic areas. Group V revealed smaller fibrotic areas compared to Group IV. Ultrastructural results confirmed findings of the light microscope. PCR analysis revealed that 63% of heart samples were positive for the presence of SRY gene. Conclusion: CD34+ stem cells can transdifferentiate into cardiomyocyte and regenerate the injured heart subjected to MI.Keywords: HUCB, CD34+ stem cells, myocardial infarction, transdifferentiatio

An inexpensive method of small paraffin tissue microarrays using mechanical pencil tips

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tissue microarray technology has provided a high throughput means of evaluating potential biomarkers in archival pathological specimens. This study was carried out in order to produce tissue microarray blocks using mechanical pencil tips without high cost.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Conventional mechanical pencil tips (Rotring Tikky II Mechanical Pencil 1.0 mm) were used to cut out 1 mm wax cylinders from the recipient block, creating from 36 to 72 holes. Three cores of tumor areas were punched out manually by using the mechanical pencil tips from donor paraffin embedded tissue blocks and transferred to the holes of the paraffin tissue microarrays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This technique was easy and caused little damage to the donor blocks. We successfully performed H&E slides and immunodetection without substantial tissue cylinder loss.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our mechanical pencil tip technique is the most inexpensive easy technique among the literature. It also takes a reasonable amount of time and reduces antibody consumption during immunohistochemistry</p

Founder mutation in KCNJ10 in Pakistani patients with EAST syndrome.

BACKGROUND: EAST syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in the gene KCNJ10. Among the 14 pathogenic mutations described so far, the p.R65P mutation stands out as the most frequent one and is particularly associated with patients of Pakistani origin. As a result we aimed to establish the existence of a potential founder effect in the Pakistani population. METHODS: To this end, we genotyped 12 patients from seven families and we compared disease haplotypes with ethnically matched control chromosomes. This haplotype was used together with demographic data for Pakistan to estimate the age of this founder mutation. RESULTS: We identified a small homozygous 0.694 Mb region around the KCNJ10 p.R65P mutation that had identical haplotypes in all of the patients which were completely absent in the control sample. Based on current demographic data and knowledge about disease frequency, we estimate that this particular p.R65P mutation arose 20 generations (about 500 years) ago. CONCLUSION: By knowing the prevalent mutation in a given population more efficient diagnostics can be performed and the families can benefit from specific counseling

Factors Influencing the Selection of Delay Analysis Methods in Construction Projects in UAE

Several delay analysis methods (DAMs) have been developed and used in the construction industry in order to analyse the causes and effects of delay events. In this research, a number of commonly used DAMs, in the specific context of UAE, are investigated by exploring the factors influencing their selection decisions as well as the process of making such a decision. A total of eight expert respondents from five different projects in the UAE were selected who provided critical insight into the decision making process adopted in practice to select a DAM. The individual project case analysis as well as the cross case analysis helped to identify a number of factors that influence the selection of DAMs in UAE projects. Some of the main identified factors were the attitude of the client, experience of the delay analyst, reputation and impartiality of the delay analyst, complexity of the project, and cost and timing of performing the analysis. The research argues that such an important decision process that can have a serious impact on the success of a commercial venture requires individual organisations to develop and adopt clear guidelines on how such decisions are made to protect its commercial interests