The role of haem oxygenase-1 modulation by isothiocyanates in drug-induced renal failure

The effect of two isothiocyanates (ITCs), S-(N-benzylthiocarbamoyl)-L-cysteine (BTCC) and S-(N-3-phenylpropylthiocarbamoyl)-L-cysteine (PTCC), in modulating the haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway was investigated in order to identify a possible strategy for protecting renal cells and tissue against drug-induced toxicity. HO-1 is a versatile inducible enzyme that provides cytoprotection by generating the signalling molecule carbon monoxide (CO) and the antioxidant couple biliverdin (BV) and bilirubin (BR). When cultured renal tubular epithelial (LLC-PK1) cells were exposed to BTCC and PTCC, an increase in HO-1 expression and activity was observed in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. This effect required activation of MAPKs, PKC and PI-3K signal transduction pathways. Interestingly, both BTCC and PTCC caused apoptosis in LLC-PK1 cells when used at concentrations above 20 uM but rendered these cells resistant to apoptotic cell death when low concentrations (5 and 10 uM) were used. In fact, pre-incubation of LLC-PK1 cells with 5 or 10 uM BTCC or PTCC conferred major resistance to apoptosis mediated by cisplatin (CP), an effective anti-neoplastic agent known to cause nephrotoxicity by damaging proximal tubular cells

Life Prediction for metals under multiaxial fatigue: A Review of existing multiaxial fatigue tests.

An overview of multiaxial fatigue life prediction methodologies and tests is provided in the present paper. It is essential for engineering applications to accurately estimate the fatigue failure behaviour and fatigue life of structures or materials subjected to multiaxial loads. Several multiaxial fatigue criteria and metal materials are reviewed in this research, including materials such as steel S355, titanium alloy TC4, 42CrMo4, AISI 303, SM45C, SAE1045, and LY12CZ. It is noted that if the fatigue life prediction models created under multiaxial constant amplitude loading were applied to the life prediction of the complicated multiaxial load, right techniques for the critical plane determination and multiaxial fatigue damage parameter setting would be required. Multiaxial stress experiments are much more complicated and costly than uniaxial fatigue experiments. Unfortunately, neither the damage produced by a multiaxial fatigue stress state nor the method for assessing it are well recognized. Consequently, it is a fully unexplored subject that continues to be investigated. Existing multiaxial non-proportional fatigue methods are restricted to the theoretical research phase, with limited practical applications. The fundamental reason is that the engineering load is complicated and unpredictable. As mentioned, multiaxial fatigue is a complicated phenomenon; thus, it should not be transformed into an equal condition of uniaxial stress using a simple static premise

The Impact of Small Group Case-based Learning on Traditional Pharmacology Teaching

Objectives: This study aimed to measure medical students’ perceptions of incorporating small group case-based learning (CBL) in traditional pharmacology lectures. Methods: Data were collected from third-year students (N = 68; 57% males, 43% females) at Al Quds University Medical School, Palestine. The students were offered a CBL-incorporated Pharmacology-2 course after they had been taught Pharmacology-1 in the traditional format during the preceding semester. Student attitudes towards the restructured course were examined by a self-administered structured questionnaire. Results: The majority of students thought that CBL was an effective learning tool for them (82%) and that it improved their learning skills (83%), independent learning skills (74%), analytical skills (70%), and their level of preparation for exams (75%). Most students reported that team discussions addressed lecture objectives (84%). Regarding cases discussed, most responders said that the cases were appropriate to the lecture topics (96%) and that the time allocated for case discussion was sufficient (86%). A large proportion of students thought that CBL improved their communication and collaborative skills (68% and 80%, respectively) and ability to work within a team (79%). Conclusion: Pharmacology-2 course restructuring led to a significant improvement of self-reported student satisfaction, motivation, and engagement

Winners and Losers: Morocco’s Market Liberalization and Contemporary Cultural Representations

This paper investigates how Moroccan novelist Laila Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (2005) and Secret Son (2009) demonstrate that Morocco’s adoption of IMF and World Bank economic policies has had devastating repercussions on the nation’s low income populations due to the downsizing of the state’s expenditures on vital sectors such as education, health and transportation. Lalami creates a fictional space through which she comments on the outcomes of market liberalization and privatization in Morocco and illustrates how the country’s socioeconomic problems, including religious extremism, are caused by a combination of external and internal forces that intertwine with the nation’s march towards modernization and integration into global economy. Through a close reading of Lalami’s works, we show how corrupt Moroccan officials and their unscrupulous elite business allies take advantage of the prevalent discourse of ‘war on terror’ to attain personal gains, justify their flawed economic policies, silence opposing voices, and crush the nation’s poor

Parallel Factor-Based Model for Two-Dimensional Direction Estimation

Two-dimensional (2D) Direction-of-Arrivals (DOA) estimation for elevation and azimuth angles assuming noncoherent, mixture of coherent and noncoherent, and coherent sources using extended three parallel uniform linear arrays (ULAs) is proposed. Most of the existing schemes have drawbacks in estimating 2D DOA for multiple narrowband incident sources as follows: use of large number of snapshots, estimation failure problem for elevation and azimuth angles in the range of typical mobile communication, and estimation of coherent sources. Moreover, the DOA estimation for multiple sources requires complex pair-matching methods. The algorithm proposed in this paper is based on first-order data matrix to overcome these problems. The main contributions of the proposed method are as follows: (1) it avoids estimation failure problem using a new antenna configuration and estimates elevation and azimuth angles for coherent sources; (2) it reduces the estimation complexity by constructing Toeplitz data matrices, which are based on a single or few snapshots; (3) it derives parallel factor (PARAFAC) model to avoid pair-matching problems between multiple sources. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Three empirical essays on the role of information in the public debt markets

This thesis consists of three related essays that examine the role of information in the market for corporate debt. The three essays collectively examine the role of information produced by the firm and its agents on alleviating information asymmetries facing public debtholders. In particular, the thesis examines the impact of bondholders' demand for reputation and information on the firm's disclosure choices and accounting attributes; and the impact of information produced by monitoring the firm's private debt before its entry to the public debt market on the yield spread of its initial bond. The first essay investigates the influence of public corporate debt on the willingness of UK firms to issue profit warnings. UK firms operate within a legal environment that is less litigious compared to their US counterparts. This setting allows for motives other than fear of litigation to affect UK companies' decision to warn. The results of this essay indicate that UK firms with public debt are more forthcoming with the disclosure of permanent negative news. Also, the results show that UK firms without public debt are more likely to hide bad news when they are closer to financial distress. However, for firms with public debt, the results indicate that the effect of closeness to financial distress on the willingness to warn is attenuated. These findings suggest that firms with public debt are deterred from hiding negative news for fear of damaging their reputation for truthful and timely disclosure. Public debt appears to act as a disciplinary mechanism on corporate disclosure policy.The second essay examines the impact of the initial public debt offering (IPDO) on the timeliness properties of the firm's accounting income. Firms are more likely to communicate with private lenders on a private, insider-basis, while they are more likely to communicate with bondholders using public information. Therefore, bondholders, compared to private lenders, are expected to be more sensitive to the quality of public information. The results indicate that firms adopt a timelier policy of economic loss recognition after their initial public debt offering using Basu's (1997) time series measure of timely loss recognition. These findings suggest that firms face higher demand for public information from a large number of external and dispersed bondholders.The third essay investigates the impact of information associated with prior private debt financing on the yield spread of companies' initial public debt offerings. Specifically, this essay focuses on information produced through monitoring by credit rating agencies and monitoring by banks. The findings indicate that IPDOs with the same or upgraded credit ratings enjoy significantly lower yield spreads. This finding suggests that changes in credit ratings could convey new information to investors regarding the firm's commitment to maintain a high credit quality. In addition, the findings of this essay indicate that strong banking relationships significantly reduce yield spreads for initial public debt offerings. This suggests that a strong banking relationship conveys a positive signal to bondholders regarding the bank's assessment of the quality of the firm.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceUniversity of JordanGBUnited Kingdo

LDL Decomposition-based Real-time FPGA Implementation of DOA Estimation

An FPGA implementation and real-time experimental verification of proposed direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm employing LDL factorization are presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm is implemented on a Xilinx FPGA using LabVIEW software and its real-time experimental verification is performed using National Instruments (NI) PXI platform. The proposed method has several advantages over well-known methods which are based on either eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) or singular value decomposition (SVD). It provides faster execution since LDL factorization requires O(n3/6) number of operations whereas EVD requires O(n3). Results from Matlab simulations and real-time experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Successful FPGA compilation reports show low resource usage and faster computation time for LDL-based method compared with QRbased implementations. Performance comparison is done in terms of estimation accuracy, FPGA processing time and resource utilization

Understanding Preclerkship Medical Students’ Poor Performance in Prescription Writing

Objectives: This study aimed to explore reasons for poor performance in prescription writing stations of the objective structured practical examination (OSPE) and absenteeism in prescription writing sessions among preclerkship medical students at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Manama, Bahrain. Methods: This descriptive study was carried out between September 2014 and June 2015 among 157 preclerkship medical students at AGU. Data were collected using focus group discussions and a questionnaire with closed- and open-ended items. Results: All 157 students participated in the study (response rate: 100.0%). The most frequently cited reasons for poor performance in OSPE stations were an inability to select the correct drugs (79.6%), treatment duration (69.4%), drug quantity (69.4%) and drug formulation (68.2%). Additionally, students reported inadequate time for completing the stations (68.8%). During focus group discussions, students reported other reasons for poor performance, including examination stress and the difficulty of the stations. Absenteeism was attributed to the length of each session (55.4%), lack of interest (50.3%), reliance on peers for information (48.4%) and optional attendance policies (47.1%). Repetitive material, large group sessions, unmet student expectations and the proximity of the sessions to summative examinations were also indicated to contribute to absenteeism according to open-ended responses or focus group discussions. Conclusion:This study suggests that AGU medical students perform poorly in prescription writing OSPE stations because of inadequate clinical pharmacology knowledge. Participation in prescription writing sessions needs to be enhanced by addressing the concerns identified in this study. Strategies to improve attendance and performance should take into account the learner-teacher relationship

Laminin 332 Is Indispensable for Homeostatic Epidermal Differentiation Programs

The skin epidermis is attached to the underlying dermis by a laminin 332 (Lm332)-rich basement membrane. Consequently, loss of Lm332 leads to the severe blistering disorder epidermolysis bullosa junctionalis in humans and animals. Owing to the indispensable role of Lm332 in keratinocyte adhesion in vivo, the severity of the disease has limited research into other functions of the protein. We have conditionally disrupted Lm332 expression in basal keratinocytes of adult mice. Although blisters develop along the interfollicular epidermis, hair follicle basal cells provide sufficient anchorage of the epidermis to the dermis, making inducible deletion of the Lama3 gene compatible with life. Loss of Lm332 promoted the thickening of the epidermis and exaggerated desquamation. Global RNA expression analysis revealed major changes in the expression of keratins, cornified envelope proteins, and cellular stress markers. These modifications of the keratinocyte genetic program are accompanied by changes in cell shape and disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. These data indicate that loss of Lm332-mediated progenitor cell adhesion alters cell fate and disturbs epidermal homeostasis.Peer reviewe

Medical students' perceptions of supporting pharmacology learning in english by key information prepared in arabic

We explored medical students' perceptions of supporting pharmacology self-learning in English by focused materials prepared in Arabic. This study targeted third-year medical students at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain (n= 183). During the endocrine and metabolism subunit, which is taught in English, slides containing focused information in Arabic preceded detailed English ones. At the end of the subunit, students' perceptions were explored by a questionnaire and focus group discussions. Most participants reported that this intervention made pharmacology learning easier, improved confidence in drug selection, knowledge of adverse drug reactions, detection of response to medications and occurrence of adverse reactions. Most respondents thought that this intervention would help them during the clinical phase of their study and in communicating drug therapy to patients in Arabic. Supporting pharmacology learning in a foreign language with instructional materials prepared in a native language improved students self-reported learning and satisfaction.Scopu