Wadi International University

Antimicrobial resistance poses a critical global health concern, particularly in developing countries like Syria, and is responsible for the increased rates of infection and mortality associated with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This cross-sectional study determined the prevalence of bacteria that cause CAP and the rate of antibiotic resistance in a sample of patients who attended the Chest Department of Ibn Al-Nafis Hospital in Damascus, Syria from September 2022 to March 2023. Almost three-quarters of the 100 CAP cases were caused by 3 agents: Streptococcus pneumonia (41%), Staphylococcus aureus (16%), and Klebsiella sp. (14%). The study showed high resistance of bacteria to the usually recommended antibiotics, which presents a significant challenge in treating these infections. Specifically, in this sample, Gram-negative bacteria had a higher antibiotic resistance rate than Gram-positive bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria showed the highest resistance against nitrofurantoin, cefazolin, and cefoxitin (100%, 91.7%, and 91.3%, respectively). Gram-positive bacteria exhibited the highest resistance against erythromycin, cefoxitin, and oxacillin (91.37%, 91.22%, and 87.71%, respectively). Resistance to the commonly recommended amoxicillin, and amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, was higher than 80%, while the tested Gram-positive bacteria showed high sensitivity to other recommended options such as cefotaxime (71%) and ceftriaxone (81%). These findings underscore the importance of being able to adapt the general World Health Organization recommendations according to local evidence. It is crucial to emphasize the need for continuous local monitoring, functioning and well-equipped laboratories, and well-trained specialists in infectious diseases in hospitals to be able to make these decisions.

The purpose of the study is to empirically assess the dynamics of foreign economic activity in the conditions of hyperdynamic transformation of international cooperation policy based on official time and structural data. The article uses a combination of time series and structural analysis methods: stationarity testing using the extended Dickey-Fuller test, the Engle-Granger cointegration test, specification of the error correction model for short-term relationships between exports and imports, structural instability tests (cumulative sums and Chow test), and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index to assess commodity concentration. The empirical base consists of annual data on exports and imports of Ukraine for 2000–2024 and structural sections for 2024. The results show that export levels behave as trend-stationary, while imports have the characteristics of a process with a unit root. At the same time, the long-term relationship between trade aggregates is not confirmed at the standard significance level in the full sample. At the same time, the error correction model reveals a statistically significant short-term response of exports to changes in imports and a significant error correction term, which indicates a regime (rather than globally stable) equilibrium. The financial analysis establishes a moderately high concentration of exports by commodity section and a somewhat higher concentration of imports by partner countries, which increases sensitivity to political and logistical shocks on the supply side. The practical significance lies in substantiating the need to synchronize trade diplomacy and regulatory instruments with the policy of diversifying sales and supply markets, as well as in the formation of monitoring indicators (speed of correction, elasticity, Herfindahl-Hirschman index), which can be built into the system of analytical support for decision-making. The methodology is reproducible, computationally transparent, and compatible with further expansion of the model, including the inclusion of additional determinants, time-varying parameters, and subsample analysis.

Mixup is a data augmentation technique within the feature space that works by applying linear interpolation between input samples and their associated labels, derived from randomly selected samples. This method has been shown to improve the predictive accuracy of state-of-the-art machine learning models in both image and text classification tasks. In this study, we investigate whether Mixup is effective when applied to transformer-based learning models, such as BERT, within the context of the Arabic language—a research area that has not yet been extensively explored. We employed three strategies to adapt Transformer Mixup for use in Arabic social media text sentiment analysis. Experimental evaluations were carried out to assess the effectiveness of these strategies using various benchmark datasets. Our findings indicate that these interpolation strategies hold the potential to enhance the performance of transformer-based models.

Background: Recent advancements in wound healing focus on botanically based medications with expedite the process with increased safety and fewer side effects. While Tribulus terrestris (T.T) L. has been acknowledged for its’ wound healing potential in vivo studies, particularly in murine models, faces challenges due to the role of the muscle layer Panniculus carnosus, leading to false positive results in clinical trials. Objective: This study aims to demonstrate the wound healing activity of powdered T.T leaves by employing a novel technique: splinted full-thickness excisional wounds in mice. Methods: Leaves of T.T were collected, grinded, sieved, and added to a hydrophilic ointment. The experiment was conducted on 50 Balb/C male mice, divided equally to 5 groups: Group I treated with 10% T.T, Group II treated with 15% T.T, Group III treated with MEBO, Group IV treated with ointment excipients, and Group Vwasn’t treated. Using isoflurane gas 5% in propylene glycol as anaesthesia, two excisional wounds were inflicted on the dorsal area on each mouse. Each group was treated with the appropriate treatment once daily and the wound areas were measured every two days for 14 days. Digimizer software was used formeasuring the wound areas then we calculated the wound healing percentages. SPSS software was used to analyse the wound healing percentages data, which they were demonstrated as mean±SD. The performed tests: One-way ANOVA test, Tukey’s test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient test, Dendrogram tree and proximity matrix. Results: A significant difference was obtained when comparing the groups treated with 10% and 15% powdered leaf T.T ointments with the negative control and positive control (MEBO) at P-value=0.000. Group II demonstrated the highest healing rate, followed by Group III then group I then group V, finally group IV. The healing increased with increasing the concentration of the powdered leaf, which was demonstrated by Group II in the first 7 days of the experiment. Pearson’s test proved there was a correlation between time and the healing rate. Dendrogram tree and proximity tree displayed a similarity among Groups I, II, and III, and between groups IV and V. T.T leaves proved their wound healing activity through the synergistic action of the present plentiful phytochemicals in leaves: phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins, and ß-sitosterol. Conclusion: T.T leaves showed a good healing action in vivo and it was improved by increasing the powder’s concentration, therefore, it decreased the healing period.

Background and objectives Mucogingival plastic surgery is a surgical procedure performed to prevent or correct anatomical, developmental, or traumatic defects. The problem of gingival recession is common in dental practice, causing pain and dentin hypersensitivity for the patient, and remains difficult to treat surgically at the second surgical site used to harvest the connective graft. Many alternatives have been used to replace connective grafts, but none have been as effective. The importance of guided tissue regeneration remains to gain attachment because it means the formation of new periodontal tissue. This study aims to evaluate the attachment gain (AG) obtained after the management of single gingival recessions of Class I and Class II of Miller's classification. Material and methods This study was designed as a clinical randomized trial using a split-mouth technique. The study sample included 15 patients (30 symmetrical gingival recessions). The first group included the coronally advanced flap (CAF) with the connective tissue graft (CTG), and the second group included the CAFwith the Xenogeneic Acellular Dermal Matrix (XDM) (Mucoderm®, Botiss Biomaterials, Zossen, Germany). AG was measured at baseline and after six months. Results The results showed that the mean relative attachment level at baseline was 8.333±0.899 in the CTG+CAF group and 8.466±0.833 in the XDM+CAF group. After six months of follow-up, the levels remained 8.333±0.899 in the CTG+CAF group and 8.466±0.833 in the XDM+CAF group, with a significant difference between the study groups after six months. Conclusion The current study concluded that both grafts applied with the coronally advanced flap led to a gain in attachment, with a greater gain in the CTG group.

The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD is defined as the rate at which microorganisms use oxygen in water or wastewater during the fixation of biodegradable organic matter under aerobic conditions. The use of BOD as a necessary parameter for the effective control and monitoring of the wastewater treatment plants remains somewhat restricted due to the long time it takes by traditional ways, which hinders its use in real time. In this paper, a hybrid model of genetic algorithms (GA) and artificial neural networks (ANN) is used for the prediction of biochemical oxygen demand. The data used in this research was collected over ten years through the daily records of the Homs waste water treatment plant. the model was built based on the approval of each of the values of (COD, SS, Q) as inputs to predict the value of the BOD, and the performance of the model was evaluated by adopting an inverse validation error for selecting the best network structure in addition to other differential criteria. The optimal structure of the neural network was determined after a number of attempts and errors, and the results showed a high efficiency of the proposed hybrid model of (genetic algorithms and neural networks) by predicting the value of inflow BOD . As a result of this research, a neural network structure was selected to predict the value of the BOD indicator which is (2-54-1) using the Hyperbolic Tangent function in the hidden layer and the logistic function in the output layer, the Levenberg-Marquardt was used as a training algorithm for training, The value of the performance function was 0.125, and the average error value of the three groups was 1.83, while the mean maximum error of the three groups was 5.86, the value of the correlation coefficient was 0.99.

The present study has two points of interest, the first point is steel-recycled aggregate concrete bond behavior, and the second point is the reliability of digital image correlation in tracking experimental deformations. Recycled aggregate concrete exhibits lower mechanical properties than natural aggregate concrete, as international standards were designed for natural aggregate concrete, so their applicability to recycled aggregate concrete is still ambiguous. In this study, five mixes were designed to verify the steel-recycle aggregate concrete internal bond-slip behavior, for five different replacement ratios (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%), the test was supported by the DIC technique for getting the slip, adding to LVDT for verifying the results. The GOM program can analyze the test video, but this takes a lot of time. For getting the steel slip using the GOM program, a series of frames were extracted from the test video via the VLC media player program, and converted to black and white colors using the XnViewMP program to be analyzed in the 2D GOM program. The steel-recycled aggregate concrete bond-slip curves obtained from the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique using the 2D GOM program were comparable with those obtained from LVDT, which means that the DIC technique is a reliable method for tracking experimental deformations. The experimental results showed that the compressive strength decreased when the replacement ratio increased, where the decrease was 7.6%, 6.6%, 9.3%, and 13% for replacement ratios of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. Bond strength decreased when the replacement ratio increased, where the decrease was 23.7%, 25.7%, 30.5%, 34.9% for replacement ratios 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. There was no clear relationship between the slip and replacement ratio. A comparison with the international standards for bond-slip curves showed that the model of Harajli gives close results for steel–recycled aggregate concrete.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) injection on orthodontic pain perception during the 1st week of the alignment and leveling process. Material and Methods: The study sample included 18 patients (11 females and 7 males). The patients were randomly divided into two groups, the PRF group (9 patients) and the control group (9 patients). The mean age of the sample members was 21.9 ± 2.5 and 20.8 ± 2.4 in the control and the PRF group, respectively. Conventional brackets were applied for both groups. PRF was injected into the six upper front teeth at a rate of 0.6 mm for each point before starting the primary wire insertion process. The pain parameters of each patient were evaluated for both groups during the 1st week of the alignment and leveling process by application of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at the durations of (2 h, 6 h, 1 day, 2 days, and 7 days) and all patients were followed up until the end of the alignment and leveling process. Results: PRF injection can reduce pain perception in orthodontic patients, overall (P < 0.05), with an effect size of approx. 53 ± 0.13%. The biggest effect was observed 2 h after exposure (P < 0.1) which showed a 50% reduction in pain in the PRF group. No significant effects were observed at later times (P > 0.1). Conclusion: The present study concludes that PRF injection can be an effective alternative for decreasing pain perception levels; however, its efficacy needs to be leveraged immediately after the injection of PRF.

PurposeThis empirical study aims to explore the impact of two facets of organizational pride (namely, emotional and attitudinal) on employee creativity in petrochemical companies in the Sultanate of Oman.Design/methodology/approachUsing a simple random sample technique, data were collected using a questionnaire from 278 respondents working in five major petrochemical organizations operating in Oman. Data were examined using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings revealed that attitudinal organizational pride is the only dimension of organizational pride that has a direct significant positive effect on creativity, while emotional pride does not affect creativity.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study is considered among the pioneering studies in its contextual field. However, despite its importance, it has several limitations. First, this study is limited to the petrochemical sector. Second, the study is limited to two variables: organizational pride and creativity. Last, this study examined creativity as one variable.Practical implicationsAttitudinal organizational pride directly affects employee creativity. Petrochemical managers should consider and enhance attitudinal organizational pride.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature investigating the attitudinal and emotional aspects as facets of organizational pride in relation to employee creativity, and it is the first to do so in the context of the Sultanate of Oman.