Assessment of Calcium, Phosphate and Magnesium Levels among Sudanese Children with Malnutrition Ibrahim Malik Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan

Background: Malnutrition is currently the most widespread and serious health problem of children in the world. Objective: This study aimed to assess calcium, phosphate and magnesium levels among Sudanese Children with Malnutrition. Materials and Methods:This is a hospital based case control study, which was conducted in the period from 2014 to 2015.A total of 120 samples were collected (60 patients and 60 apparently healthy individuals served as control.Quantitative method by mindary BS200 was used to estimate calcium, phosphorus and magnesium levels in Sudanese children with malnutrition and control group. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: The results showed that 31 (52%) of patients were males and 29 (48%) were females. Thirty seven 37(62%) of malnourished children had Marasmus, 15(25%) of them had Kwash and 8(13%) had marasmic kwash. Forty four 44(73%) of the malnourished children were less than 12 month while 16(27%) were more than 12 month.Mean of BMI, calcium, phosphate and magnesium in patients and control groups when compared showed a significantly decreased in malnourished children as BMI (12.25±0.91 versus 14.71±0.76) calcium (5.59±0.98 versus 9.19±0.62) phosphorus (2.81±0.45 versus 5.26±2.3) magnesium (1.01±0.24 versus 1.91±0.18) P-values 0.006, 0.000, 0.000 and 0.000 respectively. Plasma calcium and magnesium levels in males did not reveal significant change versus female group whereas phosphate element significantly decreased among females, p.value 0.038. There was positive correlation between BMI,Calcium and Phosphorous levels (R=0.269, P=0.038 and (R=0.258, P=0.044) while there was no correlation between BMI and magnesium level (R=0.074, P=0.572). Conclusion: This study concluded that, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium levels were reduced in malnutrition children patients, and phosphate element decreased among female group rather than male

USA educator perspectives regarding the nature and value of social and emotional learning

This paper discusses the US educator perspectives regarding the nature and value of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills. This research is part of a larger study being conducted by 33 career development investigators from 15 countries. SEL skills are becoming increasingly critical to helping youth develop the competencies needed to become employable within the emergent 4th Industrial Revolution. Today’s youth must articulate how their competencies align to multiple career opportunities. They need relationship skills and social awareness to interact with different managers and work environments. Youth need self-management skills to advance in the workplace and engage in lifelong learning. For this study, educators were asked to provide written responses to a series of open-ended questions about their understanding of SEL, their perspective on SEL’s relevance to their own effectiveness as educators, and whether and how they perceive SEL as relevant to teaching in classroom settings. This paper will report on the results of how U.S. educators perceive the value and relevance of SEL. Using a modified grounded theory approach, responses from 40 educators were analyzed and 123 SEL themes emerged. The results will be discussed in relation to existing SEL and career readiness frameworks.First author draf

Ethnopharmacological activity of Hedera nepalensis K. Koch extracts and lupeol against alloxan-induced type I diabetes

In this study, we investigated the protective effects of Hedera nepalensis crude extract, its fractions and lupeol in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Lupeol and n-hexane (HNN) fraction significantly reduced the blood glucose level by increasing insulin level in time dependent manner, and also significantly increased amylase and lipase activity in diabetic rats. Elevated levels of alanine transaminases (ALT), aspartate transaminases (AST), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitrite, hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ), total bilirubin and total protein in blood serum were efficiently restored to normal levels. Suppressed enzymatic activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH) and peroxidase (POD) were also restored to their normal levels. Kidney functions were also restored to normal level after treatment with HNN and lupeol. HNN fraction and lupeol of H. nepalensis prevented oxidative stress in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. This study signifies the importance of H. nepalensis and lupeol in ameliorating diabetes by inducing insulin secretion in diabetic model rats

Airline brand equity: do advertising and sales promotion matter? An empirical evidence from UAE traveler’s perspective

Purpose: This study aims to examine the roles of advertising (ADV) and sales promotion (SP) in creating airline brand equity (BE) in the UAE, and to test the mediational effect of customer perceived value on the proposed relationships. Additionally, the study examines the outcomes of airline BE (i.e. trust, satisfaction and loyalty). Design/methodology/approach: A structured and self-administered survey was used targeting 234 passengers, from which 197 were valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Findings: The empirical findings support the direct relationship between ADV and BE. Perceived value fully mediates the effect of SP on BE. In addition, BE positively affects trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Research limitations/implications: Future research could investigate BE and perceived value as multidimensional constructs. Additionally, future research should expand the effect of other variables such as airline type, airline class and other marketing mix elements. Practical implications: The findings from this research highlight the importance of both ADV and sale promotion in enhancing airline BE, and the pivotal role of perceived value. Originality/value: The originality of this research is highlighted in conceptualizing a parsimonious model of the preceding constructs (i.e. ADV, SP, customer perceived quality) and subsequent constructs of BE (i.e. customer trust, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty), which has never been investigated collectively in one model in the literature particularly in the airline’ context of emerging economies such as UAE

Predicting LIS Scholarly Research Directions In The Era Of Data Science

Abstract Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present the quantitative analysis of scholarly literature published worldwide on Data Science in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). Design/methodology/approach –The Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database was used as the main source for extracting data from the published documents during the period 2010-2019. The analysis of the published documents was based on the following important trends: Number of Data Science publications in all fields, Number of Data Science publications in the LIS field, the most cited document type on Data Science in LIS perspective, the most prolific author, the most productive publication year, the most productive country, annual citations, highly cited journal and research article on Data Science in LIS perspective, highly contributing research organizations and group authors on Data Science in LIS field and highly contributing universities on Data Science in LIS field during the period 2010-2019. The types of documents considered in this study were research articles, conference proceeding papers, book chapters, book reviews and editorial material. Findings –The findings of this study showed that the USA possessed the highest number of publications on Data Science in the field of LIS. The total number of publications on Data Science including all fields was 106,028 and the number of publications on Data Science in LIS perspective was 3,799 during the period 2010-2019. The year 2019 was identified as the most productive year as the research output in this year was maximum. IEEE was identified as the most productive research organization/group author, Wuhan University China as the most productive university and the Journal of Scientometrics was declared as the most prolific journal on Data Science in LIS perspective during the period 2010-2019. Bornmann Lutz, from Germany, was identified as the most prolific author with a total of 69 publications and the article titled “Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impact” was the highly cited article on Data Science in LIS perspective during the period 2010-2019. Originality/value –The study will be of great importance for students, scholars, educationists, professionals and researchers who intend to perform Scientometrics research studies in the LIS field

A Case Study to Evaluate the Environmental Impact of Aquatic Lower Plants in Mesopotamia (Particularly the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)

This study deals with the role of lower plants particularly (Ferns, Mosses & Algae) in the aquatic ecosystem within the fertile crescent in Mesopotamia. It focuses especially on the Kurdistan of Iraq, which might be one of the most productive and fertile areas in the whole Middle East. Furthermore, it is an endeavor to show the environmental impact and assess the effect of climatic and non-climatic parameters on non-flowering plants in the region. Knowledge about the presence and distribution of a such group of plants in this part of the world is so poor, particularly with respect to ferns, makes one to draw attention the necessity of such a study. This investigation is an attempt to reduce the existing gap of knowledge on lower plants in the region; furthermore, it will undoubtedly gravitate attention to the need for much more scientific information in this area, in years to come

Impact of Packet Inter-arrival Time Features for Online Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Classification

Identification of bandwidth-heavy Internet traffic is important for network administrators to throttle high-bandwidth application traffic. Flow features based classification have been previously proposed as promising method to identify Internet traffic based on packet statistical features. The selection of statistical features plays an important role for accurate and timely classification. In this work, we investigate the impact of packet inter-arrival time feature for online P2P classification in terms of accuracy, Kappa statistic and time. Simulations were conducted using available traces from University of Brescia, University of Aalborg and University of Cambridge. Experimental results show that the inclusion of inter-arrival time (IAT) as an online feature increases simulation time and decreases classification accuracy and Kappa statistic

Optical Tomography System Using Charge-Coupled Device for Transparent Object Detection

This research presents an application of Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) linear sensor and laser diode in an optical tomography system. Optical tomography is a non-invasive and non-intrusive method of capturing a cross-sectional image of multiphase flow. The measurements are based on the final light intensity received by the sensor and this approach is limited to detect solid objects only. The aim of this research is to analyse and demonstrate the capability of laser with a CCD in an optical tomography system for detecting objects with different clarity in crystal clear water. Experiments for detecting transparent objects were conducted. The object’s diameter and image reconstruction can also be observed. As a conclusion, this research has successfully developed a non-intrusive and non-invasive optical tomography system that can detect objects in crystal clear water

Occupational exposure to HIV in a developing country: assessing knowledge and attitude of healthcare professional before and after an awareness symposium

Objective: Health care providers (HCPs) are at risk of occupational exposure to HIV infection. In developing world these exposure occur due to general lack of awareness, education and structured training of HCPs. The objective of the study was to asses if continuing medical education symposium can be used as an effective educational tool to improve attitude, awareness and knowledge regarding occupational exposure to HIV infection. This quasi-experimental study was conducted among HCPs from Karachi, Pakistan. After assessing the baseline knowledge, awareness, and attitude by means of pretest; HCPs were reassessed with posttest after an education symposium on occupational exposure to HIV infection. Results: Among 364 participating HCPs, 14.2% had previous training on post exposure prophylaxis. There was an overall statistically significant (P value \u3c 0.001) improvement in the attitude of the participants. A statistically positive improvement in the number of participants giving correct answer was observed in 9 out of 11 questions (P value \u3c 0.001). The mean score of participants’ knowledge before intervention was 6.44 ± 1.84, which improved to 8.82 ± 2.17. Along with the increase in knowledge, a positive change in the attitude regarding safety against HIV was observed after the education symposium

Five Indigenous Plants of Pakistan with Antinociceptive, Anti-Inflammatory, Antidepressant, and Anticoagulant Properties in Sprague Dawley Rats

Five medicinal plants of Pakistan were investigated for their antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and anticoagulant potential. Antinociceptive activity was estimated by hot plate and writhing assay. In hot plate assay, Quercus dilatata (52.2%) and Hedera nepalensis (59.1%) showed moderate while Withania coagulans (65.3%) displayed a significant reduction in pain. On the other hand, in writhing assay, Quercus dilatata (49.6%), Hedera nepalensis (52.7%), and Withania coagulans (62.0%) showed comparative less activity. In anti-inflammatory assays crude extracts showed significant edema inhibition in a dose dependent manner. In carrageenan assay, the highest activity was observed for Withania coagulans (70.0%) followed by Quercus dilatata (66.7%) and Hedera nepalensis (63.3%). Similar behavior was observed in histamine assay with percentage inhibitions of 74.3%, 60.4%, and 63.5%, respectively. Antidepressant activity was estimated by forced swim test and the most potent activity was revealed by Withania coagulans with immobility time 2.2s (95.9%) followed by Hedera nepalensis with immobility time 25.3s (53.4%). Moreover, the crude extracts of Fagonia cretica (74.6%), Hedera nepalensis (73.8%), and Phytolacca latbenia (67.3%) showed good anticoagulant activity with coagulation times 86.9s, 84.3s, and 67.5s, respectively. Collectively, the results demonstrate that these five plants have rich medicinal constituents which can be further explored