Tobacco Smoking Among Saudi College Students: Validation of an Arabic Health Belief Model Instrument

This dissertation intended to learn more about Saudi college students\u27 behavior in relation to the use of tobacco smoking. Multiple interrelated projects have been carried out in order to achieve this ambitious goal. The goal of the first study was to evaluate the scope of the existing smoking issue as indicated by research, by systematically estimating the prevalence of tobacco use among higher education students in Saudi Arabia. The second study aimed to systematically analyze and integrate the existing information on the determinants of smoking among Saudi college students. The last project aimed to develop a psychometric instrument to evaluate Saudi students\u27 beliefs about cigarette smoking based on a theoretical model. The meta-analysis (Project 1) estimated that the 17% of Saudi students were current smokers. In order to obtain a reliable prevalence rate over time, the study suggested implementing a nationwide surveillance system that measures and monitors Saudi students’ smoking behaviors. The second systematic review (Project 2) determined that individual level factors were the most studied. Another finding was the limited usage of theoretical frameworks. The study advocated for the use of rigorous research methodologies and for the use of multi-level frameworks. The final project (3) was intended to generate and to validate a psychometric property to evaluate students’ beliefs about cigarette smoking, using an individual level framework. The Arabic Health Belief Model questionnaire demonstrated its sound validity and reliability. Future research is encouraged, in order to expand knowledge about smoking behaviors among college students in Saudi Arabia

The effects of RNA interference on the expression level of pea aphid ( Acyrthosiphon pisum) sugar transporter gene (Ap_ST1)

The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is a serious pest which attacks a number of important crops worldwide, including grains, corn, potatoes and alfalfa, and it spreads viral diseases among the plants it feed on. It reproduces sexually and asexually and, since it occurs within a short period aphids can establish many colonies and spread easily. Interestingly, it has been found that pea aphids have a high number of sugar transporter facilitator encoding genes, and the most highly expressed of these is Ap_ST1, which is expressed in the aphid’s gut, which functions as a transporter for the sugar molecules; mainly mannose and glucose. The newly discovered tool RNA interference (RNAi) has become a powerful technique to improve plants resistance against insects due to its high specificity. This study demonstrates that using conventional dsRNA against the sugar transporter gene Ap_ST1 reduces the gene’s expression level. Using a range of dsRNA concentrations proves that RNAi trigger effect can be occur when applying dsRNA in a small quantity. The effect of RNAi was only observed on the gene expression level and there was no alteration noticed on the phenotype or the pest movement. This is due to the presence of the other sugar transporter encoding gene Ap_ST3, which facilitates the transportation of the sugar molecules into the gut. Thus, this study shows that RNAi could be a promising alternative biological tool in the control and management of pea aphids

Design and Evaluate a Fair Exchange Protocol Based on Online Trusted Third Party (TTP)

One of the most crucial factors that e-commerce protocols should address is a fair exchange. In this research, an advanced method of cryptography coupled with the pay per use technique is used. A new electronic commerce protocol for the exchange of commodities is introduced. The proposed new protocol guarantees both features while addressing the main drawbacks associated with other related protocols. The new suggested e-commerce protocol is composed of two stages: pre-exchange and exchange stages. When the suggested new protocol is analysed with scrupulous protocol analysis, it attains fair exchange and a secure method of payment. The suggested new e-commerce protocol is more efficient than other related existing protocols. In this research “protocol prototype” and “model checking” is used for the purpose of authentication. The protocol prototype verifies that the suggested new protocol is executable when it's used in a real context. By experimental designs, this research shows the length of asymmetric keys as the biggest element that affects the efficiency of the protocol. When model-checking is applied in this protocol, the outcome indicates that the suggested protocol achieves the required features of fairness. Protocol extensions give those involved in the protocol the capacity to be resilient to failure. By using three methods of authentication, this research confirms that the new proposed protocol is well formulated. The work reported in this thesis first study the existing fair exchange protocols that solve the fairness problem. Then, propose more efficient protocol to solve the fairness problem. The original idea in this thesis is to reduce the communication overheads, risks and solve the bottleneck problems in the protocols that involve an online TTP

Managing Admission in Saudi Universities: a System Approach

This research aims at the development of a framework for designing a proposed admission system in the Saudi universities. This study is based on results of another paper that revealed that the current admission system in the Saudi universities needs to develop. This due to the current system for admission in Saudi universities is not comprehensive, and not relevant. The study recommends applying modern approaches related to DSS (such as; the proposed system) in order to improve the efficiency of the admission system in the Saudi universities

Some Spaces of Double Sequences Obtained through Invariant Mean and Related Concepts

We introduce some double sequences spaces involving the notions of invariant mean (or -mean) and -convergence for double sequences while the idea of -convergence for double sequences was introduced by Çakan et al. 2006, by using the notion of invariant mean. We determine here some inclusion relations and topological results for these new double sequence spaces

Epidemiology and patterns of the hand and distal forearm fractures at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Riyadh, KSA

AbstractObjectivesThe hand is the most commonly fractured site in the body, as it represents 17–25% of all body fractures. The metacarpal bone of the small finger is the most commonly fractured hand bone. This study aimed to determine the epidemiology and frequency of various fractures of the hand and the distal forearm in adults with a view to identifying patients who required surgical treatment.MethodsThis retrospective review examined the medical records of all hand and distal forearm X-rays performed on adult patients who presented to the emergency room of King Abdul-Aziz Medical City from January 2010 to December 2011.ResultsIn this study, we reviewed 2993 X-rays of the hand and the distal forearm. One-third of these X-rays confirmed fractures (n = 948), and more than two-thirds of these fractures were recorded in male patients (n = 702). There was no major difference in the distribution of fractures between the left and right hand. Half of these fractures (n = 472) were found in the young age group (18–30 years). The study showed that the phalanges had the highest proportion of fractures (n = 362, 40%). Distal forearm fractures represented one-third of all registered fractures (n = 287). Almost half of the metacarpal fractures were found in the 5th metacarpal (n = 104), confirming that the 5th metacarpal bone is the most commonly fractured bone in the hand. One-fifth of all fractures were surgically managed (n = 190, 20%).ConclusionOne-third of the reviewed X-rays identified hand and distal forearm fractures. Both hands were affected equally. Patients in the young age group are more prone to have fractures, and phalanges had the highest proportion of fractures followed by the distal forearm

Effect of Monophasic Pulsed Current on Heel Pain and Functional Activities Caused by Plantar Fasciitis

Background: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a soft tissue disorder considered to be one of the most common causes of inferior heel pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of monophasic pulsed current (MPC) and MPC coupled with plantar fascia-specific stretching exercises (SE) on the treatment of PF. Material and Methods: Forty-four participants (22 women and 22 men, with a mean age of 49 years) diagnosed with PF were randomly assigned to receive MPC (n=22) or MPC coupled with plantar fascia-specific SE (n=22). Prior to and after 4 weeks of treatment, participants underwent baseline evaluation; heel pain was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS), heel tenderness threshold was quantified using a handheld pressure algometer (PA), and functional activities level was assessed using the Activities of Daily Living subscale of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (ADL/FAAM). Results: Heel pain scores showed a significant reduction in both groups compared to baseline VAS scores (P Conclusions: This trial showed that MPC is useful in treating inferior heel symptoms caused by PF

A

In the first part of the paper, following the works of Pehlivan et al. (2004), we study the set of all A-statistical cluster points of sequences in m-dimensional spaces and make certain investigations on the set of all A-statistical cluster points of sequences in m-dimensional spaces. In the second part of the paper, we apply this notion to study an asymptotic behaviour of optimal paths and optimal controls in the problem of optimal control in discrete time and prove a general version of turnpike theorem in line of the work of Mamedov and Pehlivan (2000). However, all results of this section are presented in terms of a more general notion of ℐ-cluster points