The Variations in the Altitudes Between the Sea Level and Ajloun Impact Heart Variables, but not Angiotensin Ii

Background: hypertension affects many people worldwide and it is highly prevalent in Jordan. Living at different areas with different attitudes may have impacts in hypertension. Study objectives: to identify the prevalence of hypertension in two areas in Jordan with different attitudes and to determine the impact of attitudes in hypertension and angiotensin II to be able to determine the appropriate antihypertensive drug for such population. Methodology: a cross-sectional study design was conducted to collect data from participants. The study included 1000 participants, 500 from each area. A constructed questionnaire was used in this study. Blood samples were taken from participants to assay for angiotensin II. Blood pressure was measured for all patients. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Data was presented as means, frequencies, percentages. The relationship between variables was examined using independent T-test. Significance was considered at alpha level 0.05). Conclusions: living in high altitude is associated with increased potential to have increased levels of cardiac parameters independently of the level of angiotensin II and the therapeutic options for patients with hypertension should be taken into account

The Variations in the Level of Angiotensin II Between Subjects in Ajloun City and the Dead Sea Impact Hypertension Parameters

Introduction: Jordan has a unique array of diversity among which having the deepest level in the world, the Dead Sea and an area with high attitudes in Ajloun City which gives us a great chance to study the biological effects on hypertension and possible impacts in selecting the appropriate treatment. Study objectives: to explore the impacts of variations of attitudes in hypertension and the level of beta blockers through studying the level of angiotensin II among study participants and to investigate if the patterns of anti-hypertensive treatments are impacted. Methods and subjects: a cross-sectional study design was carried out among participants from the two different areas. From each area, a total of 500 participants were recruited and surveyed through a questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured for all participants and blood samples were withdrawn to carry out the testing of angiotensin II. Data were analyzed statistically based on the appropriate software including excel and SPSS. The relationships were examined according to independent T-Test. Significance was considered according to p0.05). On the other hand, heart parameters including SBP, DBP, MBP, pulse, and PCV all of which were significantly higher in Ajloun than in the Dead Sea (p=0.001) for all selected variables. The level of angiotensin II was 12.08 ± 5.19 pg/ml in Ajloun and this was higher than that of the Dead Sea (8.84 ± 4.65 pg/ml). The difference in the mean of angiotensin II was statistically significant (p=0.039). Conclusion: the results of the present study showed that living in high altitude compared with the lowest area in the world (the Dead Sea) exposes persons for the risks of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Our findings may lead to better therapeutic strategies particularly when to prescribe angiotensin II based therapies

Countering Extremists on Social Media:Challenges for Strategic Communication and Content Moderation

Extremist exploitation of social media platforms is an important regulatory question for civil society, government, and the private sector. Extremists exploit social media for a range of reasons-from spreading hateful narratives and propaganda to financing, recruitment, and sharing operational information. Policy responses to this question fit under two headings, strategic communication and content moderation. At the center of both of these policy responses is a calculation about how best to limit audience exposure to extremist narratives and maintain the marginality of extremist views, while being conscious of rights to free expression and the appropriateness of restrictions on speech. This special issue on "Countering Extremists on Social Media: Challenges for Strategic Communication and Content Moderation" focuses on one form of strategic communication, countering violent extremism. In this editorial we discuss the background and effectiveness of this approach, and introduce five articles which develop multiple strands of research into responses and solutions to extremist exploitation of social media. We conclude by suggesting an agenda for future research on how multistakeholder initiatives to challenge extremist exploitation of social media are conceived, designed, and implemented, and the challenges these initiatives need to surmount