ABC Diffusion in the Age of Digital Economy: the UK Experience

Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a call for further research to trace the effects of the speedy changes in business environment on management accounting practices. This study assesses the impact of different information technologies on ABC adoption and implementation. It uses a cross-sectional survey of financial directors and controllers in the UK firms. Postal and electronic questionnaires have been used in order to collect the empirical data. The findings revealed that the rate of ABC adoption has shown a number of changes between 1999 and 2005. The proportions of ABC users and those currently assessing it have dramatically fallen. The percentage of firms rejecting ABC has slightly fallen as well. However, there has been a considerable increase in the number of firms that abandoned ABC implementation and those firms that gave no consideration for its implementation. These results indicate a decrease in the popularity of ABC. ERP systems seem to have a slightly low significant impact on the initial decision of ABC adoption in those firms that do not have any consideration for ABC and firms that have an ERP system before ABC adoption. Furthermore, the results indicate that firms use different information technologies in the ABC assessment and implementation. For ABC assessment, general software applications are the most preferable software packages while a mix of different ABC software packages is the most popular in the case of ABC implementation. Finally, the findings of this study provide an indication on the nature of the possible effect of general IT-related problems on ABC implementation

Chemical constituents and cytotoxic activities of the extracts of Melilotus indicus

The phytochemical investigation of the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of Melilotus indicus resulted in the isolation of eight known flavonoids, namely; catechin (1), epicatechin (2), taxifolin (3), quercetin (4), quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), and quercetin 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (6), isorhamnetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7) and isorhamnetin 3-O-β-D-rutinoside (8). These compounds have never been isolated from this species. The cytotoxic activities of the extracts of Melilotus indicus was evaluated by MTT assay against six cancer cell lines using doxorubicin as standard drug. The chloroform extract was the most potent cytotoxic agent against HepG-2cells with an IC50: 9.21 µg/mL

Nasopharyngeal Isolates from a Cohort of Medical Students with or without Pharyngitis

Objectives: Few studies have investigated pharyngeal colonisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aims to identify the pharyngeal organisms present in a cohort of medical students with and without symptomatic pharyngitis. Methods: This study was conducted between September 2016 and June 2018 at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from preclinical and clinical medical students attending the college during the study period. The specimens were tested for 16 viral and nine bacterial pathogens using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: A total of 352 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 287 students; of these, 22 (7.7%) had pharyngitis symptoms. Overall, the most common isolates were human rhinovirus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, with no significant differences in terms of gender, year of study or stage of study. The prevalence of S. pyogenes in asymptomatic and symptomatic students was 1.1% and 0%, respectively. A Centor score of ≥2 was not associated with S. pyogenes-positive samples. Six pathogens were isolated from symptomatic students including H. influenzae. Fusobacterium necrophorum was not detected in any of the samples. Conclusion: The diagnosis and management of pharyngitis should be tailored to common pathogens in the region. This study found that S. pyogenes and F. necrophorum were not detected among students with symptoms of pharyngitis; moreover, Centor scores of ≥2 were not associated with the presence of S. pyogenes. This cut-off score therefore should not be employed as an empirical measure to initiate penicillin therapy in this population.Keywords: Pharyngitis; Pharynx; Asymptomatic Infections; Carrier State; Fusobacterium necrophorum; Streptococcus pyogenes; Penicillins; United Arab Emirates

Topical Potential Effect of Sodium Nitroprusside in Induced Oculohypertension in Rabbits

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy known by slow degenerative structural changes seen in retinal ganglion cells and the optic nerve head. Elevation in intraocular pressure caused by     imbalance between the production of A queous humor and the drainage of this liquid through the trabecular meshwork. Nitric oxide donors being evaluated as a novel way to impact the progression of glaucoma by increasing the conventional outflow, hence lowering intraocular pressure. The aim of study was to evaluate the potential effect of topical sodium nitroprusside in glaucomatous rabbits.  Thirty-two rabbits were used and distributed into four groups include: normal group, glaucoma induced group, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) group and timolol group. The treatment was given twice daily: at 9:00 a.m. and at 1:00 p.m. for 12 day. The intraocular pressure was recorded two times a day: at 9:00 a.m. and at 12:00 p.m. The intraocular pressure, nitrite level, endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the histology of ciliary body were measured. The results revealed a high significant decrease in intraocular pressure and no significant difference in nitrite level while a high significant elevation in endothelial nitric oxide synthase with improvement in the histology of ciliary bodies.

Improving the Mechanical Properties of Fiber Metal Laminate Composite Used in Aircraft Wing

The purpose of this study is to reduce weight and improve the mechanical properties of aircraft wing using Hybrid materials known as fiber metal laminates (FMLs). In this study, seven layers were used to produce the FMLs that consist of aluminum alloy2024-T3 reinforced by carbon and glass fibers bonded with blend of epoxy-resole. The Carbon Glass Reinforced Aluminum Laminates (CAGRALLs) was used as FMLs. The results showed that The CAGRALLs gave good mechanical properties because of increasing in tensile strength, elongation at fracture and impact toughness except flexural strength by comparing with other FMLs using commercial epoxy. The increasing in layers led to weaken adhesion force between layers of FMLs caused decreasing almost mechanical properties. The FMLs has good mechanical properties by using carbon and glass fibers by comparing with carbon and jute fibers. The CAGRALLs have higher numbers of cycles at failure under cyclic loadings than Aramid Reinforced Aluminum Laminates (ARALLs). The CAGRALLs have lower density by comparing with aluminum alloy 2024-T3 that used in manufacturing of aircraft wing

Effects of Electrohydraulic Therapy of Shock Waves on Pain and Lymphedema Measurement Post-Radical Mastectomy

Background: Lymphedema post-mastectomy remains a challenging problem. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of shock wave electrohydraulic treatment (ESWT) for patients with pain and lymphedema. Methods: Thirty patients (30 women) with pain & lymphedema post-radical mastectomy were evaluated to participate in this Clinical trial. They were recruited from the Minia Cancer Institute- Minia University and Deraya University outpatient clinics. Their ages varied between the ages of 40 and 50 years. They were divided into two groups. Group (1) 'Group of studies': 15 patients seeking ESWT in addition to conventional medical care. Group (2) 'Control group': 15 people seeking conventional medical care only. Patients of the study group (1) were treated with a number of impulses, at least 500 shocks at E2 at 4Hz (equivalent to 0.11mJ/mm square energy). Treatment sessions were delivered twice weekly for six treatments (3 weeks). The assessment used a Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and arm circumference midway between the shoulder and elbow for lymphedema measurement. Results: showed that (ESWT) on pain and lymphedema measurement post-radical mastectomy effectively decreased pain as evidenced by the highly significant decreases in the visual analogue scale. These results revealed a substantial VAS reduction (P<0.0001). Effects of the ESWT on lymphedema measurement via the arm circumference measurement at the point where the shoulder and the elbow meet post-radical mastectomy were investigated. These results revealed a notable reduction in the mean value of the arm circumference measurement (ACM) (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The significant reductions in VAS and assessment of the ACM arm range show that the ESWT, in addition to conventional therapy, significantly impacted upper limb structural components following radical mastectomy

Proposal of a modified tip apex distance for prediction of lag screw cut-out in trochanteric hip fractures

Introduction: Lag screw cut-out is a serious complication of dynamic hip screw fixation of trochanteric hip fractures. The lag screw position has been acknowledged as one of the important factors affecting the lag screw cut-out. We propose a modification of the Tip Apex Distance (TAD) and hypothesise that it could improve the reliability of predicting lag screws cut-out in these injuries. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted for hip fracture entries in the period from Jan 2018 to July 2022. A hundred and nine patients were suitable for the final analysis. The modified TAD was measured in millimetres based on the sum of the traditional TAD in the lateral view and the net value of two distances in the AP view, the first distance is from the tip of the lag screw to the opposite point on the femoral head along the axis of the lag screw while the second distance is from that point to the femoral head apex. The first distance is a positive value, whereas the second distance is positive if the lag screw is superior and negative if inferior. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the reliability of the different parameters assessing the lag screw position within the femoral head. Results: Reduction quality, fracture pattern as per the AO/OTA classification, TAD, Calcar Referenced TAD, Axis Blade Angle, Parker’s ration in the AP view, Cleveland Zone 1, and modified TAD were statistically associated with lag screw cut-out. Among the tested parameters, the modified TAD had 90.1% sensitivity and 90.9% specificity for lag screw cut-out at a cut-off value of 25 mm with a P-value < 0.001. Conclusion: The modified TAD had the highest reliability in the prediction of lag screw cut-out. A value ≤ 25 mm could potentially protect against lag screw cut-out in trochanteric hip fractures

Diversity and community composition of fishes in the Pusu River Gombak, Malaysia

The Pusu River has been receiving increased pollution loads because of a significant amount of land-clearing activities for development projects. A total of 113 numbers of fishes belonging to six species under six families were recorded from Pusu River throughout the study period (November 2014–March 2015). The most dominant species were Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (38.9%) followed by Oreochromis mossambica (36.28%) under families Cyprinidae and Cichlidae, respectively. Similarly, the species Hypostomus plecostomus (10.62%), Channa striatus (6.19%), Notopterus notopterus (4.42%), Pristolepis fasciata (3.54%) under the family Loricariidae, Channidae, Notopteridae, and Pristolepididae were constituted of the total fish catch, respectively. A greater abundance (56.64%) of fish community was observed at station 3 compared to the other stations. This is a deeper pool area located near the rainforest area with less turbid water compared to the other stations. Second highest abundance (14.16%) was observed at station 2, while station 6 has shown the lowest abundance (2.65%). Overall Shannon diversity value (H0 ¼ 1.399) indicates that Sg. Pusu, Gombak, is not highly diverse with the tropical fish species. The study suggests that a long-term continuous monitoring of water quality and fish diversity is needed to study for sustainable development of fishes in this fascinating tropical river (Sg.) Pusu