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The process of integration with a combination of knowledge to evaluate two or more alternative behaviors and later choose one of them is the definition of a decision to use a service. Decision making is the process of choosing the best among several options that are taken systematically to solve a problem. The decision-making process can be carried out in several stages, namely: (1) Analysis of wants and needs, (2) Searching for information, (3) Selecting and assessing alternative uses, (4) Decisions about usage, and (5) Consumer behavior after use. The function and purpose of this research was conducted to determine the formulation of competitive strategy and decision making in the service sector. Descriptive research with a qualitative approach is the method used in this study, and the source of data for this study was obtained by interviewing informants. The results of this study are what Laundry can do in the Kalijudan area to help decision making, namely taking advantage of existing opportunities by minimizing weaknesses. Keywords: Decision Making, SWOT Analysis, Alternative Strategies

Attributed to their unique properties zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) in recent years, have received considerable attention. Notably, research has demonstrated that zinc in living organisms is an essential nutrient. For example, both eukaryotes and prokaryotes including fungi, bacteria, and yeast by using protein, enzyme or microbial cells and other biomolecules compounds are exploited for the synthesis of ZnONPs in either an extracellular or intracellular route. However, the properties of nanoparticles (NPs) are depended upon their shape and size. ZnONPs demonstrated antimicrobial properties, making them unique for different applications. Therefore, in the current study Due to its extensive antimicrobial activity, eco-friendly and simplicity, ZnO Nanoparticles (ZnONPs) synthesis has gained much attention. So, this review was done to concentrate about the green synthesized of ZnONPs by bacteria and their application. Also, the study of their effect as biopesticides against the House Fly, Musca domestica L was mentioned.

Nanoparticle (NP) pollution is a worldwide problem. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are one of the most used NPs in a variety of applications, which results in their increased release into the marine environment. In the present work, the marine mussel Lithophaga lithophaga was used as a model organism to evaluate the toxic effects of CuO NPs following 28 days of exposure to sub-lethal concentrations (5 and 20 μg/L). The time points were 1 day of exposure to assess the cell viability, phagocytosis in mussel haemocytes and genotoxicity (DNA damage in gills), 1, 14 and 28 days of exposure to evaluate copper concentrations in water and gills, as well as metallothionein concentration in gills, while gill histology and SEM examination were done after 28 days of exposure. The results indicated that the accumulation of CuO NPs in gills increased with concentration and time. Mussel exposure to CuO NPs increased neutral red uptake. However, the phagocytic abilities decreased in haemocytes with increased concentration. CuO NPs caused DNA damage in the gills even at low concentrations (5 µg/L). CuO NPs caused histopathological alterations in gills, such as brown cell accumulation, necrosis, dwarfism of filaments and ciliary erosion. In conclusion, exposure of the mussel L. lithophaga to CuO NPs led to concentration- and time-dependent responses for all the examined biomarkers. Thus, L. lithophaga may be used as a bioindicator organism in the assessment of CuO NP toxicity.

Purpose One of the most important Information Security (IS) concerns nowadays is data theft or data leakage. To mitigate this type of risk, organisations use a solid infrastructure and deploy multiple layers of security protection technology and protocols such as firewalls, VPNs and IPsec VPN. However, these technologies do not guarantee data protection, and especially from insiders. Insider threat is a critical risk that can cause harm to the organisation through data theft. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the threats related to data theft caused by insiders in organisations and explore the efforts made by them to control data leakage. Design/methodology/approach The study proposed a conceptual model to protect organisations’ data by preventing data theft by malicious insiders. The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature review to achieve the objectives of this study. The collection of the data for this study is based on earlier studies conducted by several researchers from January 2011 to December 2020. All the selected literature is from journal articles, conference articles and conference proceedings using various databases. Findings The study revealed three main findings: first, the main risks inherent in data theft are financial fraud, intellectual property theft, and sabotage of IT infrastructure. Second, there are still some organisations that are not considering data theft by insiders as being a severe risk that should be well controlled. Lastly, the main factors motivating the insiders to perform data leakage activities are financial gain, lack of fairness and justice in the workplace, the psychology or characteristics of the insiders, new technologies, lack of education and awareness and lack of management tools for understanding insider threats. Originality/value The study provides a holistic view of data theft by insiders, focusing on the problem from an organisational point of view. Organisations can therefore take into consideration our recommendations to reduce the risks of data leakage by their employees.

House fly “Musca domestica” Linnaeus is a common insect widely distributed all over the world and is one of the domestic insect pests found associated with human and animal. Due to their habits and habitats, house flies are able to transmit several pathogenic microorganisms to man such as: bacteria, fungi and virus. House flies are not just annoying human and animal, but they also have been known as vectors of infectious microorganisms either mechanically or biologically. Chemical insecticides have been used for many years and have been known as the most effective approach in house fly management but due to their side effects on the environment and the increasing development of pest resistance to each new chemical, studies tended to explore new alternative methods in pest control. Biological methods including different predators, parasites, entomopathogenic micro-organisms and botanical extracts showed in the last years a practical and effective ecofriendly method to control insect pests including house fly and at the same time safe on human and animal.

Chemical modification of chitosan is one of the methods to increase the reactivity of chitosan toward many applications. The presence of primary amino groups in chitosan permits its modifications with different agents. New three-dimensional network structure hydrogels (Va–f) and (Va–f)G were prepared via reaction of chitosan with 3-(carboxymethyl)-2-aryl-6-alkylquinoline-4-carboxylic acid anhydride derivatives (IVa–f) in the absence and/or presence of glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent, respectively. The hydrogels were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, solubility, swelling behavior, thermal analysis, surface morphology and biodegradability. Evaluation of the hydrogels toward antibacterial activity, load and release of lidocaine and efficiency of metal ions uptake (Co+2 and Hg+2) was investigated. Hydrogel (Ve) revealed the highest activities toward (Gram −Ve) E. coli and Proteus and (Gram +Ve) S. aureus and B. subtilis bacteria than chitosan. However, hydrogel (Ve)G revealed the highest drug loading and release and showed also the potent efficiency toward metal ions uptake for Co+2 and Hg+2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a pandemic that resulted in extreme human and economic losses. A higher incidence of morbidity and mortality to COVID-19 was demonstrated in a special population. Factors that impact the disease severity include old age, obesity, pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and immunosuppressive drugs. Fortunately, several COVID-19 vaccines were developed such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson among others. These vaccines have shown good efficacy and safety profiles in the general population, but serious rare adverse effects were reported related to specific vaccines. Several studies are undergoing to test the efficacy in special populations. Reduced efficacy or delayed immunological response to COVID-19 vaccines were suggested for patients with autoimmune disorders or organ transplant patients, especially those receiving certain medications such as rituximab. There is a concern about organ rejection in organ transplant patients. Despite these facts, there is an agreement among health care providers to consider prioritization of the above-mentioned groups for receiving vaccinations with the same precautions followed for the general population. It is recommended to ongoing studies determine the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with comorbidities based on clinical data.

After the global pandemic of the new coronavirus, its rapid spread and many victims, it is necessary to find an effective vaccine or drugs to overcome it. Most specialists consider that repositioning some medications is the best, fastest and most reliable option for treating patients with the new coronavirus without delay. One of these drugs was an old antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine. The current review aimed to explore its potential mechanism, as well as its pharmacokinetics and toxicity, in an attempt to suggest a treatment protocol for its use in treating the COVID-19 virus effectively and safely. This study reviewed the published references on the popular search engines as well as the reference books regarding the pharmacological effects of HCQ. The results of this study suggested the following practical guidelines to optimize HCQ efficacy and safety in the management of COVID-19. HQC should be used as early as possible, i.e., once the viral infection is confirmed or suspected. A loading dose is recommended to be given in 3-4 divided doses to minimize cardiac toxicity. Maintenance daily dose (divided into two doses), should be continued until complete remission. Precautions, drug-interaction, contraindications, variable metabolic pathways in the particular population should be considered. This study suggests more clinical trials regarding the use of HCQ in the management of early identified COVID-19 patients under close medical observation to minimize HCQ cardiac toxicity.

Poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) was blended with acrylonitrile/diallyl amine derivatives [diallyl amine (DAA), diallyl amine acetate (DAAA), diallyl guanidine (DAGA)] copolymers for the improve...

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has high prevalence and poor prognosis which make it a research priority for scientists. Since metformin, a hypoglycaemic drug, has been found to prolong the survival of mice with DN. This study aims at investigating the molecular mechanisms leading to DN in rats and to explore the role of leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein-1 (LRG1), activin-like kinase1 (ALK1), and transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ1) in the pathologic alterations seen in DN. The aim was also extended to explore the protective action of metformin against DN in rats and its influence on LRG1and ALK1/TGFβ1 induced renal angiogenesis. 24 male rats were used. Rats were assigned as, the vehicle group, the diabetic control group and diabetic + metformin (100 and 200 mg/kg) groups. Kidney samples were processed for histopathology, immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis. Bioinformatic analysis of studied proteins was done to determine protein-protein interactions. Metformin reduced serum urea and creatinine significantly, decreased the inflammatory cytokine levels and reduced LRG1, TGFβ1, ALK1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins in rat kidneys. Bioinformatic analysis revealed interactions between the studied proteins. Metformin alleviated the histopathological changes observed in the diabetic rats such as the glomerular surface area and increased Bowman's space diameter. Metformin groups showed decreased VEGF immunostaining compared to diabetic group. Metformin shows promising renoprotective effects in diabetic model that was at least partly mediated by downregulation of LRG1 and TGFβ1/ALK1-induced renal angiogenesis. These results further explain the molecular mechanism of metformin in DN management.

El-Ghwas DE, Al-Nasser AS, Al-Sheikhy AA. 2021. Short Communication: Bacillus endolithicus and Bacillus paramycoides: New Isolates from housefly Musca domestica in Saudi Arabia. Biodiversitas 22: 4209-4214. Housefly Musca domestica Linnaeus is a common insect widely distributed all over the world. It is one of the domestic insects found associated with humans and animals. The present study investigated the bacterial diversity associated with Musca domestica samples collected from different places such as food courts and trash cans near fast-food restaurants in Makkah Province from October 2019 to December 2019. Eighteen pure isolates of bacterial strains were isolated and identified by Gram staining. Most of the bacterial isolates were Gram-positive except for two species, which were Gram-negative. The VITEK system was used to identify randomly isolate no. 5, 7, 17, 18, and 29. The results revealed that they belonged to the genus Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Micrococcus sp. respectively. Due to the most isolated strains were Bacillus sp., so 16S RNA was used to genetically identify novel isolated strains 5 and 7. Isolate no. 5 showed the highest similarity (99 %) with Bacillus endolithicus, and isolate no. 7 showed the highest similarity (99 %) with Bacillus paramycoides. This is the first record of Bacillus endolithicus and Bacillus paramycoides to be isolated from the house fly Musca domestica L.

Two diallylamine salts, diallylammonium acetate (DAA acetate) and diallylguanidinium acetate (DAGA) were cyclocopolymerized in water with acrylonitrile (AN) using power ultrasound in order to prepare acrylonitrile copolymers involving thermally stable heterocyclic rings in their polymeric matrix. The structural characterization of the copolymers was performed using FTIR, $$^{13}$$ C NMR, UV/Vis spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The results revealed that the diallyl amine salts cyclopolymerized to form pyrrolidine and not piperidine rings throughout the polymeric chains. The thermal behavior of the copolymers prepared under nitrogen atmosphere was investigated using thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry. The morphological property was also discussed using scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The results revealed that the thermal stability of the copolymers was improved by the increase in the content of N,N-diallylammonium and N,N-diallylguanidinium acetate. The power of ultrasonic waves enhanced the homogeneity of the copolymers blend films irrespective of the copolymer compositions.

Cyclopolymerization of diallylamine (DAA) onto starch backbone was studied. The graft copolymerization (St-g-DAA) occurred using redox initiators (potassium persulfate/sodium bisulfite). The graft parameters have been studied to obtain the maximum percentage graft. The percentage of graft reached 56%. The copolymer’s structure was characterized by 13CNMR spectrometer. The thermal property of the synthesized copolymer was investigated to adjust the copolymer to water treatment, which involved the removal of Cu (II) ions from aqueous solution. The removal of cations was confirmed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Emission scanning electron micrograph (ESEM). Also, the (St-g-DAA) showed better antibacterial activity than native starch.