Mechanisms of pathogenesis of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on tomato

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Sight Words in the Field of Teaching Saudi Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Like all students with special needs, those with ASD are unique. To help them develop their skills and capacities, they need specialized programs and interventions. The main purpose of this study was to understand teachers’ knowledge about sight words intervention. In addition to that, the study was intended to discover teachers’ perspectives on the use of sight words to enhance reading skills of Saudi students with ASD. 89 male and female teachers of students with ASD participated in this study. The result showed that teachers have a high level of knowledge about sight word strategy in teaching reading to their students with ASD. In addition, teachers see that the use of sight words is moderately effective in enhancing on other aspect of literacy of students with ASD

The Effectiveness of Transition to School for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Systematic Review

Numerous factors, phases, stages, and stakeholders come into play when exploring the topic of transition to school for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Researchers interested in this topic must go through many procedures to eventually reach the end goals of their studies at the highest level possible of accuracy especially when their studies are built on the participation of children with ASD. Moreover, the transition to school is a multi-threaded topic and the possibilities that researchers can explore are endless. This study aimed to explore the issue of students with ASD transitioning to schools and scrutinize the multiple sub-topics associated with the process of transitioning. The study reviewed 16 studies that fell within the inclusion criteria to find out about (1) the main purpose of the studies, (2) what methodologies were used, and (3) whether researchers had pre-set hypotheses about ASD. Findings revealed that several topics and sub- topics were falling under the overarching umbrella of the issue of the transition to school for children with ASD. Researchers utilized many methodologies to examine the topics, some of which were common across some studies. Some studies were found to have included different groups of participants: children with ASD as well as other stakeholders for this group of children, such as parents, care providers, teachers, and workers of intervention programs. Most of the reviewed studies did not include prior hypotheses about ASD and speculations were not paramount elements

Genetic variability, heritability and character association of grain yield and its components among selected genotypes of maize (Zea mays L.), Gezira State, Sudan

In the Sudan, the low yield of maize was mainly due to the use of low yielding land races and open-pollinated varieties. Hence, the current study was conducted to measure the extent of genotypic and phenotypic variability, genotypic performance, heritability, genotype x season interaction, and the magnitude of association among seed yield and its components of 10 maize genotypes. The experiment was carried out during the summer of 2017 and the winter of 2017/18, using a randomized complete block  design with three replicates, at the University of Gezira Farm, Wad Medani, Sudan. The characters measured were days to 50% tasseling and silking, plant and ear height, number of kernels per row and per ear, ear diameter, cob length, 100-kernels weight and grain yield. High significant phenotypic variability was detected for all the measured characters. Seasonal differences were also significant. High broad sense heritability estimates were recorded for 50% tasseling and silking and plant height while the rest of the characters showed moderate estimates. The study confirmed the fact that maize is a summer crop in central Sudan. In summer, the highest seed yield genotype was HSD 5158 (2609 kg/ha) and in winter was HSD 3538 (2285 kg/ha). Days to 50% tasseling and silking and plant height were significantly and positively correlated with yield and so recommended as selection criteria for seed yield improvement. It is recommended to grow genotypes HSD 5158 in summer and HSD 3538 in winter as well as genotypes VMH 4040, VMH 4102 and HSD 5007 in both seasons. Testing of these genotypes under different locations and seasons is suggested.              يعزى ضعف إنتاجية الذرة الشامية بالسودان لزراعة أصناف مفتوحة التلقيح وسلالات محلية ضعيفة الإنتاج. هدفت هذه الدراسة لقياس التباين الظاهري والوراثي ودرجة التوريث على المدى العريض وتفاعل الطراز الوراثي والموسم وارتباط إنتاج البذور ومكوناته. نفذت التجربة في صيف 2017 وشتاء 18/2017 بتصميم القطاعات العشوائية الكاملة بثلاث مكررات بمزرعة جامعة الجزيرة، واد مدني، السودان. الصفات التي  قيست هي : عدد الأيام لظهور 50% من الأزهار المذكرة والمؤنثة وطول النبات وارتفاع القندول وعدد بذور الصف والقندول ومحيط القندول وطول الكوز ووزن مائة حبة وإنتاج البذور. أظهرت النتائج اختلافاً معنوياً بين الطرز الوراثية لكل الصفات وفي الموسمين. تأثير الموسم كان معنوياً. سجلت قيم عالية لدرجة التوريث بالمعنى العريض لصفات 50% إزهار مذكر ومؤنث وطول النبات ولكن الصفات الأخرى أظهرت قيم وسطية. ثبت أن محصول الذرة الشامية في وسط السودان محصول صيفي. الطراز الذي أعطى أعلى إنتاجية صيفاً هو HSD 5158 (2609 كجم/هـ) وشتاءً  هو  HSD 3538 (2285 كجم/هـ). ارتبطت صفات الإزهار المؤنث والمذكر وطول النبات ارتباطاً موجباً ومعنوياً بالإنتاجية وعليه يمكن استعمالها كمؤشرات انتخاب لتحسين إنتاجية الحبوب. يوصى بزراعة الطراز HSD 5158  صيفاً والطراز HSD 3538 شتاءً والطرز VMH 4040 و VMH 4102 و HSD 5007 في الموسمين معاً. يوصى بزراعة هذه الطرز المقترحة في مواسم ومواقع متعددة لتأكيد النتائج. &nbsp

Surface and cross-sectional characterization of titanium-nitride coated nickel–titanium endodontic files

Background/purpose Although the effect of experimental surface modifications on various properties (e.g., fatigue, wear) on coated files have been tested in the past, there is no report for the coating quality of commercially available TiN coated files. The aim of this study was to characterize the surface and cross section of TiN coated endodontic files. Materials and methods TiN coated nickel–titanium endodontic files (EasyShape) were surface and cross-sectionally analyzed via scanning electron microscopy backscattered electron imaging and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis in spot, area, and line scan modes. Results Surface imaging revealed parallel oblong regions with higher mean atomic contrast, a finding attributed to increased Ni content. Cross-sectional analysis showed that the coating’s average total thickness was 0.31 μm and consisted of a thin layered film. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of Ti, Ni, N, and O in the coating, whereas only Ni and Ti were identified in the bulk of the file. Ti and O showed their peak compositions at the bulk/coating and coating/surface interfaces, respectively, whereas N displayed a rather constant content within the coated region. The N and O contents started increasing inner to the coating/bulk interface, denoting possible diffusion of both elements to the subcoating region. Conclusion Surface and bulk characterization showed no uncoated areas of the files tested. Apart from Ti, Ni, and N, oxygen was also identified within the coating region

Speed of Lexical Access to Arabic and English Letters

To examining the role of cultural differences in speed of lexical access, we employed two types of Posner (1967) name matching task: Arabic and English types. We have conducted an experiment on 30 native Arabic speakers from King Saud University. The results showed that the lexical access to physically identical letters is faster than lexical access to the nominally identical letters. However, there was a significant effect of task's type in the speed of lexical access. Also, the correlations coefficients varied with task's type. In its entirety, these results suggest that the cultural aspects have a role in the speed of lexical access. Keywords: Lexical Access, long term memory, letters matching

The Application of the Principles of the Creative Environment in the Technical Colleges in Palestine

The study aimed to identify the creative environment of the technical colleges operating in Gaza Strip. The analytical descriptive method was used through a questionnaire which was randomly distributed to 289 employees of the technical colleges in Gaza Strip with a total number of (1168) employees and a response rate equal to (79.2%) of the sample study. The results confirmed the existence of a high degree of approval for the dimensions of the creative environment with a relative weight of (75.19%) according to the perspective of the employees of the technical colleges in Gaza Strip. The results of the study showed a high level of creative environment (fluency, flexibility, originality, sensitivity to problems) in the technical colleges in Gaza Strip, where the field (fluency) ranked first and relative weight (76.86%), in the second place came the area (sense of problems) and relative weight (74.89%). The field of elasticity came in third place with a relative weight of (74.59%). Finally, the field of originality came in fourth and final rank with a relative weight of (74.41%). The results showed that there are differences between the technical colleges in the principles of the creative environment in all fields and the overall degree except for the field of flexibility. The most available colleges in these principles were the university college of applied sciences, and that was the least of the Faculty of Al-Aqsa Society. The results showed that there were differences according to the age variable in the areas of creative environment only in the sense of problems for age groups (less than 30 years) and (from 40 to 50 years). The researchers suggested a number of recommendations, the need to enhance the dimensions of the creative environment in technical colleges by working to improve the faculties of fluency, flexibility, originality and sensitivity to problems. The need to work on continuity and improve aspects of the creative environment of the colleges and the creation of new and innovative ways to support and develop and support these aspects combined. Necessity of technical colleges to continue to develop the creative environment (fluency, flexibility, originality, sensitivity to problems) for employees by engaging them in specialized training courses for creative thinking and problem solving. Developing work procedures with new innovative methods that will accomplish the various tasks quickly and accurately, and provide the effort, time and costs. The researchers urged more future studies that address the same variables of the current study in the field of creative environment and applied to other sectors

Assessing post-traumatic stress disorder in South African adolescents: using the child and adolescent trauma survey (CATS) as a screening tool

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that South African children and adolescents are exposed to high levels of violent trauma with a significant proportion developing PTSD, however, limited resources make it difficult to accurately identify traumatized children. METHODS: A clinical interview (K-SADS-PL, selected modules) and self-report scale (CATS) were compared to determine if these different methods of assessment elicit similar information with regards to trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adolescents. Youth (n = 58) from 2 schools in Cape Town, South Africa participated. RESULTS: 91% of youth reported having been exposed to a traumatic event on self-report (CATS) and 38% reported symptoms severe enough to be classified as PTSD. On interview (K-SADS-PL), 86% reported exposure to a traumatic event and 19% were found to have PTSD. While there were significant differences in the rates of trauma exposure and PTSD on the K-SADS and CATS, a cut-off value of 15 on the CATS maximized both the number of true positives and true negatives with PTSD. The CATS also differentiated well between adolescents meeting DSM-IV PTSD symptom criteria from adolescents not meeting criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that trauma exposure and PTSD are prevalent in South African youth and if appropriate cut-offs are used, self-report scales may be useful screening tools for PTSD

Intermediate Role of the Criterion of Focus on the Students Benefiting in the Relationship between Adopting the Criterion of Partnership and Resources and Achieving Community Satisfaction in the Palestinian Universities

The study aimed at identifying the intermediate role of the criterion of emphasis on students and beneficiaries in the relationship between adopting the criterion of partnership and resources and achieving the satisfaction of the society. The study used the analytical descriptive method. The study was conducted on university leadership in Al-Azhar, Islamic and Al-Aqsa Universities. The sample of the study consisted of (200) individuals, 182 of whom responded, and the questionnaire was used in collecting the data. The study reached a number of results, the most important of which were: The level of adoption by the Palestinian universities of the criterion of partnership and resources came to a large extent. The level of adoption by the Palestinian universities of the criterion of emphasis on the beneficiary students was very high. The criterion of partnership and resources to achieve the satisfaction of the community surrounding the Palestinian universities, the existence of a statistically significant impact of the adoption of the criterion of partnership and resources to strengthen the focus on students benefiting in Palestinian universities, The focus on the students benefiting from the satisfaction of the community surrounding the Palestinian universities, the existence of a statistically significant impact on the adoption of the criterion of partnership and resources to achieve the satisfaction of the community surrounding the Palestinian universities, The study presented a number of recommendations, most important of which are: Increase interest in the resource and partnership criterion through enhancing the university's resources and developing internal and external partnerships to serve the university and the society. Increase the focus on students and beneficiaries by providing an appropriate educational environment and academic programs that meet the needs of the labor market. Through the strengthening of existing community service centers and the establishment of new community centers, strengthening the partnership of industrial companies and promoting scientific research for the benefit of universities and society

The Availability of the Resource Standard and Partnership as One of the Possibilities of Excellence in Palestinian Universities According to the European Model

The study aimed to identify the availability of the resource and partnership standard as one of the possibilities of excellence in Palestinian universities according to the European model. The study used the analytical descriptive method. The study was conducted on the university leadership at Al - Azhar and Islamic Universities, where the study population consisted of (282) individuals. The study sample consisted of (135) individuals, (119) of them responded, and the questionnaire was used in collecting the data. The study has reached a number of results, the most important of which is the existence of a high standard of resources and partnership in the Palestinian public universities operating in the southern governorates. The fields of the resource and partnership criteria were as follows: (79.8%) management of internal and external partnerships; management of technical resources (technology) (76.4%), Buildings, equipment and resources (76%), Finance Management (72.8%). The study presented a number of recommendations, the most important of which is: Increasing the interest of universities in applying the criteria of resources and partnership as one of the criteria of excellence, increasing the interest of universities in managing finance and obtaining funding for their various activities, periodic maintenance of buildings and equipment and ensuring their suitability to the requirements of the educational process