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In this work, new chitosan derivative nanofibers that exhibit antibacterial properties were successfully fabricated. The two CS Schiff base derivatives (CS-APC and CS-2APC) were prepared by incorporating 4-amino antipyrine moiety in two different ratios, followed by a reductive amination to obtain the corresponding derivatives CS-APCR and CS-2APCR. Spectral analyses were used to confirm the chemical structure. The molecular docking evaluation of CS-APC, CS-APCR, and CS was conducted on DNA topoisomerase IV, thymidylate kinase and SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro) active sites. CS-APCR showed a well-fitting into the three enzyme active sites with docking score values of − 32.76, − 35.43 and − 30.12 kcal/mol, respectively. The nanocomposites of CS derivatives were obtained by electrospinning the blends of CS-2APC and CS-2APCR with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) at 20 kV. The morphology of the nanofibers was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that fiber diameters were significantly decreased when CS-2APC and CS-2APCR were incorporated into pure PVP to reach 206–296 nm and 146–170 nm, respectively, compared to 224–332 nm for pure PVP. The derivatives of CS and their nanofibers with PVP were found to have antibacterial activities against two strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Data revealed that CS-2APC nanofibers showed antibacterial activity to the two strains of E. coli less than CS-2APCR nanofibers.

The objective of the current study was to extract 2-(benzhydryl sulfinyl)-N-sec-butylacetamide), a novel compound from fig, and then determine its role in enhancing trastuzumab-triggered phagocytic killing of SKOV-3 cancer cells. In this study, Soxhlet was used to extract the compound from the mature and air-dried fig fruits. The production of the isolated extracts was enhanced by using polar and non-polar solvents. Several solvents, such as methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and n-hexane, were used to isolate the effective compound 2-(benzhydryl sulfinyl)-N-sec-butylacetamide) from the organic layer. UV-spectroscopy, FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR were applied to identify the purified compound. The in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that the 2-(benzhydryl sulfinyl)-N-sec-butylacetamide) can increase the activity of the phagocytic cells, via the interaction with FcY receptors, along with trastuzumab, and the pathway can use a model for the therapeutic strategy for effective treatment of ovarian cancer cells.

Having recourse to learners' mother tongue in foreign language (FL) classes has been a controversial topic in the field of teaching English as a foreign language for a long time. There has been a great deal of claims and counterclaims that revolve around the pedagogical appropriateness of teacher usage of learners’ mother tongue in foreign language teaching. Recently, the findings of English as a foreign language (EFL) research cast doubt on the rationales of proponents of exclusive use of FL in EFL setting; and researchers come up with the reality that a rational use of first language (L1) is not only inevitable but also profitable in classrooms where teachers and learners share the same L1. Dearth of knowledge on the pedagogical reality of this issue in Iraqi EFL contexts is worth exploring. This study aimed at highlighting English language teachers’ attitudes towards using the learners' mother tongue (Arabic) in the EFL classrooms, seeking their viewpoints on the purposes for which Arabic could be used in English classes, and exploring their reasons for using it. For this end, the study was conducted on 50 EFL teachers teaching at public primary schools in Baghdad, using a questionnaire survey developed to fulfill the aim of the study. Findings of the obtained data demonstrate that teachers’ overall attitudes towards occasional use of Arabic in EFL classrooms were positive; and they reported using Arabic for both teaching and classroom management purposes. Analysis of the data also indicates that all of the participants were inclined to switch to Arabic in their EFL classrooms for a number of reasons necessary to create a more comprehensible, motivational, relaxing, friendly, and supportive classroom environment for young learners and to save time and effort in overcrowded classes.

Iron overload remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients. Iron regulatory proteins and their genetic variants together with changes in hepcidin levels in thalassemic patients could affect the disease manifestations. This work aimed to study genetic variations of ferroportin-1 (FPN1-8CG), Transmembrane Serine Protease 6 (TMPRSS6 rs855791) and hemojuvelin (HJV I222N and G320V) genes within a cohort of 97 β-TM Egyptian patients by Polymerase chain reaction Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in comparison to fifty normal control subjects. Among β-TM patients; the CG variant of FPN1 was significantly higher, while the TT and TC variants of TMPRSS6 were significantly lower in comparison to controls. Liver Iron Concentration (LIC) was significantly higher among β-TM patients harboring the FPN1 (GG) genotype and we found that FPN1gene mutation acts as independent predictor of MRI LIC (p = 0.011), Pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was significantly higher in patients harboring the mutant FPN1 (GG and CG) genotypes (p value 0.04). β-TM patients having the HJV I222N (AA) genotype were having significantly higher cardiac iron overload (p value = 0.026). The studied genetic variants of iron regulatory proteins could alter the manifestations of iron overload thus resulting in different clinical phenotypes of thalassemic patients, these findings need to be confirmed by larger cohorts of patients with longer follow-up periods.

يرافق التوسع الحضري للمدن سكانياً ومساحياً زيادة في متطلبات الحياة اليومية لسكانها ، ومنها كثرة الطلب على خدمات البنى التحتية الاساسية لزيادة استخدامها اليومي وارتباطها بمستوى تطور الحياة الحضرية داخلها . وان العجز في أي مرحلة من مراحل ادائها سيؤثر حتماً في مستوى تقديم هذه الخدمات للسكان ضمن أي مدينة مما ينطوي عليه بالتأكيد مخاطر بيئية وصحية جسيمة .وعلى هذا الاساس جاءت هذه الدراسة لتقييم مدى كفاءة هذه الخدمات في مدينة الشرقاط في ضوء التوسع الحضري الذي شهدته المدينة خلال مراحل نموها ودراسة طبيعة توزيعها المكاني ومدى تطابقه مع المعايير التخطيطية المطبقة في المدن، نظراً لدورها الكبير في تأمين الاحتياجات الانسانية داخل المدينة واستناداً الى ان المدينة يجب ان تتوافر فيها كل هذه الخدمات. وأي نقص او خلل في توزيعها سيؤدي حتما الى تدني حصة الفرد المعتمدة في الحصول على الخدمات كما ونوعا وفقا للمعايير الواجب تطبيقها في العراق. لذا جاءت الدراسة كمحاولة لفهم واقع هذه الخدمات في المدينة لتحديد المشاكل الاساسية التي تعانيها كمحاولة لوضع الحلول المناسبة لها وتقديمها الى الجهات ذات العلاقة لغرض تهيئة المستلزمات المطلوبة لتطويرها لأنها تسهم في بناء المدينة وتدعم حركة التطور البنيوي فيها مستقبلاً .

Background During any critical health care situation as COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that the medical staff will be under a high level of stress. However, nurses specifically are under both physical and psychological pressure during this pandemic, with a risk of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. Accordingly, nurses exposed to patients with COVID-19 infection are expected to suffer from a high level of depressive symptoms. This cross-sectional study was applied on 456 nurses with age ranges from 18 to 60. They were divided into two groups: group 1 were composed of 228 nurses who were directly exposed to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients, while group 2 were composed of 228 who were less exposed to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients for comparison. Data were collected by personal interviews with nurses using Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9) scale for assessment of presence of depressive symptoms and its severity. We aimed to assess the both the prevalence and the predictors of depressive symptoms among nurses exposed to COVID-19 patients. Results We found a statistically significant higher percentage of depressive symptoms among nurses directly exposed to COVID-19 patients (61.8%) versus the less exposed group (18%). There was a statistically and significantly higher specific COVID-19 associated stressors score (SCAS) among nurses directly exposed to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients compared to those who were less exposed; likewise, the PHQ-9 score was a statistically and significantly higher among directly exposed group compared to less-exposed group. Moderate and severe depressive symptoms were present in 23.2% and 22.4%, respectively, within the group of nurses with direct exposure; meanwhile, the less-exposed group showed 7.5% and 3.9%, respectively, with statistically higher significant difference. On doing a linear regression analysis, all the following predictors were significantly independently associated with higher PHQ-9 scores (with higher depressive symptoms severity) among nurses exposed to COVID-19: physical isolation (restrictions on touching others, even after working hours), exposure to a new COVID-19 patient, developing COVID-19-like symptoms, displaying COVID-19-like symptoms by colleagues, knowing that COVID mortality rate exceeds influenza, possible separation from family, concern about family members, fears about infection for patients, family, and friends. Conclusions COVID-19 pandemic has serious effects on the psychological well-being of nurses exposed to COVID-19 patients. There was an increased rate of depressive symptoms among them during the pandemic with its subsequent burden. Therefore, nurses exposed to COVID-19 patients are in a high need of care and support during the pandemic.

This study aims to investigate the advantages of implementing multimedia resources in the teaching and learning environment of mathematics and statistics. It examines the use of tablet PCs to create video learning resources. Such practices allow lecturers to provide additional learning support to students via the learning platform Moodle. This paper discusses the experiences of three lecturers in developing a technology-based, interactive teaching method to support student learning. The results found that “solved examples” in the video resources are useful in demonstrating topics about statistics. Furthermore, the paper encourages lecturers to learn from their experiences and develop learning resources to enable students to better engage in the learning process.

Background. Tissue damage caused by COVID-19 could be detected by several clinical indicators including hematological, immunological, biochemical, and inflammatory markers. This study was to detect these clinical parameters to reveal the correlation between the factors and their roles in the development of COVID-19, to explore the hazard factors in severe cases. Materials and Methods. A total of 200 participants of both sexes were included in the study, with an age range of (25–72) years, categorized into three main groups: 50 healthy individuals, 62 mild infected patients, and 88 severe infected patients with pneumonia. Different hematological and clinical parameters were included in the analysis (Basrah city, Iraq). Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), ferritin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were assessed for all participants using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The liver, renal, and cardiac functions were assessed by clinical chemistry testing. Results. COVID-19 patients had leukocytosis, with an increased number of neutrophils and a decreased lymphocyte count, according to our findings. In regard to inflammatory parameters, both ESR and hs-CRP showed significant differences between the two groups, whereas IL-6 was significantly higher in the total severe group compared to the other two groups. Biochemical results revealed that each lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) had significant changes in the total severe group. Among pneumonic with an O2 requirement and pneumonic without an O2 requirement, there were significant differences in immunological and inflammatory markers ( p > 0.05 ). The neutrophils-lymphocytes ratio (NLR) was highly elevated in severe who required O2. Moreover, IL-6, lymphocytes, and neutrophils were possible risk factors for COVID-19 infection, with the strongest influence of IL-6 with a high odds ratio (OR: 24.138, 95% CI: 8.437–30.65, p < 0.01 ). Furthermore, there were significant correlations among the indicators. Conclusion. Each of IL-6, lymphocytes, and neutrophils might represent major factors in the severity of COVID-19 and IL-6 plays the main role in inducing the inflammatory and pathophysiology process that is known as the cytokine storm.

یهدف البحث الحالي التعرف على الضغوط المهنية لدى معلمات ریاض الاطفال, وتألفــت عینــة البحــث الأساســیة مـــن (135)معلمــة ، تــم اختیــارهن بالطریقــة العشـــوائیة البســیطة مــن مــدیرية تربیــة بغــداد الرصــافة الأولــى للعام الدراسي (2020/2021 ). ولتحقیـق أهـداف البحـث أعـدت الباحثـة مقیـاس الضغوط المهنية ، ثـم حللـت فقـرات المقياسً منطقيا و إحصائيا لحسـاب قـدرتها التمییزیـة و معـاملات صـدقها ، و تحققـت الباحثــة مــن الصــدق الظــاهري و صــدق البنــاء للمقیــاس بتطبیقــه علــى عینــة المقیــاس البالغة (135) معلمة وتم استخراج الثبات بطریقة اعادة الاختبار ومعامل الفا كرونبـاخ وبلغ معامـل الثبـات (89،٠ ، 746،٠)علـى التـوالي وبـذلك تكــون المقیــاس فــي صــیغته النهائیــة مــن (27) فقــرة وأمــام كــل فقــرة خمســة بــدائل هــي (تنطبق عليً تماما، تنطبق عليً غالبا, تنطبق عليً أحيانا, تنطبق عليً نادرا, لاتنطبق عليً), وتوصلت إلى النتائج الآتية : - يعانن معلمات رياض الأطفال من ضغوط مهنية لان القيمة التائية المحسوبة البالغة (301 ,8) أكبر من القيمة التائية الجدولية البالغة (196 ,1) مما يعني وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين متوسط درجات العينة والمتوسط الفرضي للمقياس وهذا الفرق لصالح متوسط درجات العينة وهذا يشير إلى ان معلمات رياض الأطفال لديهن مستوى عالٍ من الضغوط المهنية.

Little information is available on the relationship between IL-17 with VD, ESR, MDA and GSH levels for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This study aimed to determine the levels of IL-17, VD, ESR, MDA and GSH, also to determine the relationship between IL -17 with VD, ESR, MDA and GSH. The sample of this study consists of 30 patients and 30 apparently healthy individuals. The results showed that the levels of IL-17, MDA and ESR marked increase in patients group in compare with controls group (P≤0.05).While levels of VD and GSH shows marked decrease in patients group in comparison with the controls group (P≤0.05). It was found positive relationship between IL-17 and levels of MDA and ESR. Also it was found negative correlation between IL-17 and levels of the VD and GSH.

The preparation of adsorbents plays a vital role in the adsorption method. In particular, many adsorbents with high specific surface areas and unique shapes are essential for the adsorption strategy. A Zn–Mg–Al/layer double hydroxide (LDH) was designed in this study using a simple co-precipitation process. Adsorbent based on Zn–Mg–Al/LDH was used to remove crystal violet (CV) from the wastewater. The impacts of the initial dye concentration, pH, and temperature on CV adsorption performance were systematically examined. The adsorbents were analyzed both before and after adsorption using FTIR, XRD, and SEM. The roughness parameters and surface morphologies of the produced LDH were estimated using 3D SEM images. Under the best conditions (dose of adsorbent = 0.07 g and pH = 9), the maximum adsorption capacity has been achieved. Adsorption kinetics studies revealed that the reaction that led to the adsorption of CV dye onto Zn–Mg–Al/LDH was a pseudo-second-order model. Additionally, intraparticle diffusion suggests that Zn–Mg–Al/LDH has a fast diffusion constant for CV molecules (0.251 mg/(g min1/2)). Furthermore, as predicted by the Langmuir model, the maximal Zn–Mg–Al/LDH adsorption capacity of CV was 64.80 mg/g. The CV dimensionless separation factor (RL) onto Zn–Mg–Al/LDH was 0.769, indicating that adsorption was favorable. The effect of temperature was performed at 25, 35, and 45 °C in order to establish the thermodynamic parameters ∆Ho, ∆So, and ∆Go. The computed values indicated exothermic and spontaneous adsorption processes. The study presented here might be used to develop new adsorbents with enhanced adsorption capabilities for the purpose of protecting the water environment.

Context: Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics can result in serious patient harm. Aims: To investigate the incidence, nature, clinical severity, and causes of antibiotic prescribing errors (APEs) in the emergency department (ED) of a large hospital in Jordan. Methods: A mixed-method approach was used to explore the incidence and types of APEs by direct observation of electronic prescriptions (EPS) of antibiotics over four weeks, and to identify causes of errors by semi-structured interviews with ED physicians. The clinical severity of APEs was rated by a committee of experts. SPSS V26 and NVivo 10 were used for the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Results: The incidence of APEs caused by the use of EPS was 4.3%. Wrong quantity (32.62%), wrong dose (15.25%), and duplicate drugs (13.55%) were identified as the most common types of APEs. More than one-third of APEs identified were deemed clinically significant, seven were serious, and one was lethal. Minor and significant antibiotic APEs across physicians who attended workshops on EPS and those who did not were 75.00% versus 46.77% (p = 0.001) and 18.75% versus 52.41% (p = 0.013), respectively. Three major causes of errors were identified: 1) System-related (system crash, drop-down menu), 2) user-related (lack of computer skills), and 3) workplace-related (overcrowding, inadequate staffing). Conclusions: APEs generated by the use of EPS were common in EDs in Jordan, clinically significant, and multifactorial. Further research is required to cover pharmacists’ perspectives of this kind of errors.

The preparation of adsorbents plays a vital part in the adsorption method. In particular, many adsorbents with high specific surface areas and unique shapes are essential for the adsorption strategy. In this study, a Zn-Mg-Al/layer double hydroxide (LDH) had been designed via a facile co-precipitation process. Adsorbent based on Zn-Mg-Al/LDH was utilized to remove crystal violet (CV) from the wastewater. The impacts of the initial dye concentration, pH, and temperature on CV adsorption performance were systematically examined. The adsorbents were analyzed both before and after adsorption using FTIR, XRD, and SEM. The roughness parameters and surface morphologies of the produced LDH were estimated using 3D SEM images. Under the best conditions (dose of adsorbent = 0.07 g and pH = 9), the maximum adsorption capacity has been achieved. Adsorption kinetics studies revealed that the reaction that led to the adsorption of CV dye onto Zn-Mg-Al/LDH was a pseudo-second-order model. Additionally, intraparticle diffusion suggests that Zn-Mg-Al/LDH has fast diffusion constant for CV molecules (0.251 mg/(g.min1/2)). Furthermore, as predicted by the Langmuir model, the maximal Zn-Mg-Al/LDH adsorption capacity of CV was 64.80 mg/g. The CV adsorption equilibrium parameter (RL) onto Zn-Mg-Al/LDH was 0.769, indicating that adsorption was favorable. The effect of temperature was performed at 25, 35, and 45 oC in order to establish the thermodynamic parameters ∆Ho, ∆So, and ∆Go. The computed values indicated exothermic and spontaneous adsorption processes. The study presented here might be used to develop new adsorbents with enhanced adsorption capabilities for the purpose of protecting the environment of water. ‎

Foaming is a major operational occurrence seen in gas sweetening units; causing production losses, off-spec product, solvent losses, equipment corrosion and excessive consumption of anti- foam chemicals. Foaming can therefore shutdown an entire unit if mismanaged. This paper details a multi-layered bulletproof strategy to manage foaming while operating and designing ultra-sour gas sweetening units. Process simulation models of an operational amine unit at ADNOC Sour Gas (ASG) were built to showcase the positive impacts of each of these recommendations on the performance of the unit. This multi-pronged guideline that adds a safety-net around the upstream separation equipment, sour feed gas, lean amine, and absorber include: (1) Internal modifications to the upstream feed gas separator; (2) Fail-safe design practice around feed separator; (3) Recalculation & modification to the conventional 5 degC temperature approach rule for the lean solvent & (4) Robust differential pressure measurement across absorber. The above recommendations demonstrated a CAPEX and OPEX saving of US$ 25 MM and US$ 0.6 MMPA respectively to ASG. In addition, reduction in process upsets and pressure drops in the gas circuit generated production related revenues of > US$ 2 million/yr.

The study was carried out to determine antibacterial resistance profiles of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), isolated from clinical samples (n: 352) of patients during the period, from January 2019 to July 2020 in five governmental and private medical laboratories of Aden governorate, Yemen. The results showed the percentage for resistance ratio is differentiated between samples and the category of cephalosporin antibiotic groups. The highest percentage of resistance was in the wound sample for Cefadroxil, Cefuroxime, and Ceftriaxone at (100%), in addition to 100% in the pus, CSF, and sputum samples for Ceftriaxone antibiotic. Moreover, Cefadroxil has 100 % of resistance in semen, ear, and sputum samples. However, the Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the pharyngeal sample not showed any resistance to all cephalosporin antibiotic groups.

Background: While the role of pharmacists in the current pandemic control has been recognized worldwide, their coaching efforts to improve public’s behaviors that could prevent COVID-19 transmission has been rarely investigated. Objectives: To assess whether pharmacist-based virtual health coaching sessions could increase the proportion of people who practised healthy social behaviors, to test whether this model can increase the public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, and to measure whether these behaviors could actually prevent contracting COVID-19. Method: In this randomized controlled trial, adults who matched specific criteria were randomly allocated into 2 arms. The active arm received 12 pharmacist-based virtual coaching sessions delivered via Zoom® over a month. Participants allocated to the control arm received no coaching. At the end of the last coaching session, both groups were asked to complete a structured questionnaire for outcome assessment. Participants in the active group were followed up to 2 weeks after the end of the last coaching session to check if they contracted COVID-19 or not. The SPSS software version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Chicago, IL) was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 300 participants who gave consent for participation, 295 completed the study (147 from the active arm and 148 from the control arm). The proportion of those using face masks, avoiding crowds, and willing to be isolated if infected in the active arm was increased from 51.70%, 53.74%, and 59.86% at baseline to 91.83%, 80.27%, and 96.59% at the end of coaching, respectively (all with P

The infectiousness of COVID-19 is high among the susceptible population, making the calculation of the reproduction number (R) an essential step to implement preventive measures. We aim to estimate COVID-19 transmission to determine if the disease is successfully controlled or extra measured should be adopted to attain this goal. The daily incidence data of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia from March 2nd, 2020, to April 4th, 2021, were obtained from the continuously updated Saudi Ministry of Health COVID-19 repository. To get accurate estimation of the situation over the last 4 months (from December 1st, 2020, to April 4th, 2021), we calculated the weekly (every 7 days) R starting from March 2nd, 2020, and till the last week of the available data. The calculated values of R were represented as median, first quantile (Q1), and third quantile (Q3). As early as the first week of December 2020, the median R was 0.81 (0.80–0.83) which means that each existing infected case would transmit infection to only one person. This was followed by fluctuations over the next few weeks around R value of 1, reaching its highest level of 1.45 (1.42–1.47) between December 31st, 2020, and January 6th, 2021. This was followed by a relatively steady decline over the following weeks, with some till mid-March where the R values started to slightly rise again. Social distancing, protective precautions, avoiding abuse of the partial lifting, expanding the screening process, and other Saudi measures sound to be successful and should be replicated in similar communities. This measure should be continued till the vaccination process is completed, to reduce the number of contacts and to avoid uncontrolled transmission of the disease.

Background: Spiritual leadership can guide leaders to help followers to be able to meet higher order needs. Purpose: Is to explore the relationship between spiritual leadership and organizational trust among nurses. Design: A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. Setting: the study was conducted at Menoufia university hospitals all 11 ICU units, all 6 operation room, all 21deparetments and 15 out patients clinics. Subjects: included all nursing managers were available 85 at the time of the study, 400 staff nurses were selected by simple random sample to participate in the study. Data collection Instruments: spiritual leadership and organizational trust questionnaire. Results: the highest percentage of nursing managers' perception was observed between moderate and high level of spiritual leadership. The highest percent of staff nurses had low levels of organizational trust dimensions while the lowest percent of staff nurses had high levels of organizational trust dimensions. Conclusion: there was positive statistically significant correlation between nursing managers’ altruistic love levels and staff nurses’ organization's trust dimension. Also there was positive statistically significant correlation between nursing managers’ membership levels and staff nurses’ nursing managers’ trust dimension and staff nurses’ organizational trust dimension and the medium score of staff nurses’ organizational trust levels increased with increase of nursing managers’ levels of spiritual leadership medium score. Recommendations: the nursing managers should use the application of innovative styles such as spiritual leadership to improving the organizational trust among staff nurses