Reservoir Heterogeneity: Should It Be Modelled as Conformance or Dispersion?

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Ceullular Basis of Missense Variants Causing Familial Hypercholesterolemia in UAE

Familial hypercholesterolemia is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) carrying cholesterol in the blood. FH is mainly caused by mutations in the gene encoding the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) which causes altered lipid metabolism. LDLR is synthesized and initially modified by glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transferred to the plasma membrane by Golgi to carry out LDL clearance from the bloodstream. Defective LDLR can, therefore, lead to increased levels of LDL in the blood which may lead to atherosclerosis and premature coronary artery diseases. For the past few years, cardiovascular diseases have been found to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the UAE. In this study, the pathogenesis of a group of seven missense LDLR variants (p. Cys167Phe), (p. Asp178Asn), (p. Glu277Lys), (p. Gly314Arg), (p. His327Tyr), (p. Met652Thr) and (p. Arg814Gln) were evaluated and identified in Emirati patients with suspected familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). The aim of this project was to generate the identified missense LDLR variants in mammalian expression vector, establish their subcellular localization using confocal microscopy, and evaluate their glycosylation status. It was found that several of these variants resulted in an apparent partial retention of the LDLR mutants in the ER and hence their possible failure to pass the ER quality control system. Several of the studied missense mutants will be further studied in the future to investigate their exact pathogenicity mechanism and cellular impact on the ER and endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation (ERAD)

EFFECTS OF ANESTHESIA ON INNATE IMMUNE COMPONENTS IN ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

Objectives: The present study was carried out to evaluate the possible role of anesthetics and surgery on innate by measuring the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interferon gamma (IFNγ) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flow cytometry was used to determine MCP-I and CD16.Methods: Serum level of TNFα and IFNγ cytokines was measured using ELISA technique. Flow cytometry was used to determine MCP-I and CD16. White blood cell count and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined.Results: There was a highly significant rise in CRP blood level postoperatively when compared with pre-operative blood level (p<0.001). In addition, the results revealed a significant rise in neutrophil count after operation in comparison with its baseline level before operation (p<0.001), while the level of lymphocytes showed significant decline following operation (p<0.001). The level of monocyte and eosinophil also got significantly reduced after operation (p<0.001), whereas the level of basophil showed no significant alteration after operation (p=0.687). CD16 NK cell count revealed a significant rise during the time of anesthesia. However, it showed a significant decrease postoperatively, but the reduction did not reach baseline count. It has been noticed also that the level of MCP-1 got raised significantly in association with anesthesia induction; however, it returned back to its baseline level following surgery.Conclusions: Analysis of data to correlate the innate immune components TNFα, IFNγ, MCP-I, and CD16 with types of anesthetic drugs (general, local, and regional anesthesia) showed no significant association between these components and type of anesthesia (p>0.05)

The perception of women engineers in the construction industry in Palestine

The industrial and occupational distribution of women is such that women are concentrated predominately in a few occupations, mostly in the service sector, such as banking, finance, insurance, public administration, hotel, and catering. Men and women are equal in their capabilities in almost every respect, provided that women are given the same opportunities as men for training, employment, and promotion. There is a lack of research studies on women in the construction industry; therefore this field needs special consideration. The purpose of the current study is to find out working conditions of the Palestinian women civil and architect engineers in the construction industry in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. In addition, it attempts to examine their career prospects and to understand problems experienced by these women throughout their academic years as well as in their careers. Discrimination against women is still

REVISITING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EUDAIMONIC WELL-BEING AND INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP: MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEPTION OF INCLUSION

The main goal of the current research is to investigate the mediator role of perception of inclusion between inclusive leadership and eudaimonic well-being. The partial least square method of structural equation modeling was incorporated to test the direct effect and the mediating effect based on data collected from 401 respondents of dissimilar sectors but mainly from the pharmaceutical sector. The results exposed an insignificant direct effect and significant indirect impact of inclusive leadership on eudaimonic well-being; however, the variable perception of inclusion was found to be a significant mediator. Nevertheless, the results contribute to the prior research studies that largely investigated the direct relationship between employee well-being and leadership, by showing that perception of inclusion mediates the relationship between eudaimonic well-being and inclusive leadership. The findings of the current research study certainly will help managers working in many industries set up and maintain behaviors that can improve employees' well-being, particularly eudaimonic well-being at work

A phenomenological investigation on ethical leadership and workplace engagement from a multi-cultural perspective

Despite continuous attempts to introduce employee engagement measures, leaders worldwide have been increasingly concerned about diminishing employee engagement levels. The issue of workplace engagement continues to be a source of contention for academics and practitioners alike. There is still a need to comprehend this phenomenon since previous research lacks a thorough understanding of employee work engagement concerning ethical leadership. This qualitative study explores the perceptions of the leaders working in service organizations regarding ethical leadership on employee work engagement in three countries, i.e., Malaysia, Turkey, and Pakistan. The phenomenon of work engagement was explored in this study. The theory of self-determination supports the proposed theoretical framework of the current study. Purposive sampling was applied to select 28 leaders in the service sector. Semi-structured interviews were performed to understand employee engagement better using participant observations, opinions, strategic perspectives, and the employee handbook and recordings of interviews and meetings with service sector leaders. The findings highlighted eight major ethical leadership themes suggested by 28 managers in the interviews. Eight themes of ethical leadership are (1) Role Modeling, (2) Trust, (3 Honesty, (4) Integrity, (5) Justice, (6) Religiosity, (7) Responsibility, (8) Intellectual competence. The present study found that leaders applying different strategies and understanding the importance of employee engagement could improve employee engagement and have a more robust workforce and beneficial organization. (C) CIKD Publishing

Safety climate in construction industry the case of Gaza strip

The construction industry plays an important role in the social and economic development in Palestine. Safety in the construction industry is considered a major issue in developed and developing countries. Palestine's construction suffers recently from poor safety and health conditions as safety rules do not exists and work hazards at the workplace are not perceived. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of construction workers regarding safey climate and safety behavior work in Gaza Strip construction sites. It will also explore the relationship between personal characteristics of constuction workers and safety climate/safe work behavior. Furthermore, the relationship between safety climate and safe work behavior will be explored. The methodology adopted in this paper was based on comprehensive questionnaire targeting the construction workers. 300 questionnaires were distributed and 246 questionnaires were collected and then analyzed to achieve the research objectives. It was found that construction workers have positive attitude and perception towards safety climate and safe work behavior. There exist a positive relationship between safety climate and safe work behavior. There is an impact of experience, field of work, smoking habit, and job on safety climate. In contrast, the personal characteristics; marital status, direct employer, educational level, family members to support, skill levels have no influence on safety climate. There exist a relationship between personal characteristics age, experience, field of work, smoking habit, educational level, and job on the field safe work behavior. On the other hand no impact

Evaluation of Impact of Prescribing Safety Assessment Workshop on Medical Doctors Using Kirkpatrick Model

Background Clinical pharmacology training is a prerequisite for all medical graduates. Prescription writing errors are not infrequent at primary health care level leading to threat to patient safety. Prescribers lacks uniform structured training and assessment which is one of the major factors for this situation across the country. In lots of institutions despite proper curriculum, learners lack interest because the subject importance is insignificant. Hence to bring more interest in pharmacology for prescribers there is a dire need for innovative and interesting methods of teaching and assessment, one of which is prescribing safety assessment (PSA). Objectives To assess if the PSA is superior method of training prescription writing than CPW To evaluate the workshop on prescription writing using guidelines of Kirkpatrick Model   Methods It was an experimental study. 44 medical doctors participated; a pre-test was taken 01 week before the workshop. Afterwards, they were randomized into 02 groups, group A went through PSA and group B followed conventional prescription writing (CPW) 01-day workshop. At the end, post-test was taken from both groups. The qualitative data was also collected from participants on feedback proforma consisting of few closed ended questions on Likert scale. Results The independent t-test was used to compare the data as it was in normal distribution. Posttest performance of PSA group significantly increased P ˂ 0.001 as compared to CPW. Reaction  to closed ended 13 questions on Likert scale showed high satisfaction from 4.32 to 4.84 on 5 points  Likert scale on workshop satisfaction. Conclusion PSA is an effective teaching and assessment strategy for learning clinical pharmacology. The study objectively proves its effectiveness in comparison to CPW and provides a guideline to implement this innovative and useful tool for teaching and assessment. Keywords Prescribing safety assessment, conventional prescription writing, Faculty development, Workshop, Impact, Kirkpatrick model

The Construction of a Gravity Retaining Wall to Prevent Landslides on the Grogol Kediri Highway

One proof of Kediri's progress is the construction of Doho Kediri International Airport which is expected to improve the economy and tourism in this city. The airport was built with the aim of improving connectivity and suppressing development disparities in southern East Java. The purpose of this study is to plan the construction of an earthquake-resistant which is gravity retaining wall on the Grogol Kediri Highway, Kediri Regency. . Planning is carried out at STA 3.8-4.0. ,  soil laboratory testing on samples obtained from the studied location.  Identification of the soil type, sliding angle, and weight of the soil volume at the site are needed to determine the planning of earthquake-resistant retaining walls. From the soil properties obtained, it can be determined that the land is included in the GC (Clayey Gravel) category With a shear angle of 28° and a weight of 1.463 gr/cm3. These results were used to calculate the dimensions and the stability of the retaining wall using the Coulomb method.  The retaining wall should have a peak body width of 1 meter, foundation width of 3.8 meters, foundation thickness of 1 meter, foundation depth of 1.04 meters, foot and heel width of 0.9 meters, height of 6 meters, and bottom body thickness of 2 meters. Based on stability calculations, the retaining wall is safe against overturning, shifting, and subsidence. Therefore, this retaining wall is a viable solution to prevent landslides and mitigate the negative impacts caused by them