Search results for: Sizar Abed Mohammed

Authors: Yosra Makni, Mariam Dammak, Dhouha Abed

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Purpose: This paper investigates the mediating role of corporate reputation on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on a sample of 4329 drawn from 33 developed and developing countries and over a period of eight-year ranging from 2009 to 2016, we apply an Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) regressions to test our hypotheses. Findings: The authors find that there is a positive association between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement and the financial performance of a company. They also document that there is a positive association between CSR engagement and a company's reputation and the company's reputation mediates the relationship between engagement in CSR activities and financial performance. Originality Value: This study contributes to the literature in the following ways. First, our research advances the understanding of the link between corporate social responsibility and financial performance by responding to the requests of several researchers to study the mechanisms of mediation between these two concepts given the scarcity relative to currently available research. So we include the most important predicted advantage of CSR, namely reputation, by developing and testing a more complex relationship. Secondly, these relationships have been investigated using an international sample drawn from a large number of countries with a high reputation. Using Judy and Kenny's method, we have confirmed that the company's reputation can play the role of a mediating variable on the relationship between CSR's commitment to operations and the financial performance of the company. More specifically, the more the company is engaged in the activities of CSR, the more it can have a good reputation, more than it has a good financial performance.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, company's reputation, financial performance, mediating variable

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Authors: Rouag N., Khalifa M. W., Bencheikh A., Abed H.

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The behavior study of forty-two varieties and genotypes of chickpeas regarding root wilt disease induced by Fusarium oxysporum under the natural conditions of infection was conducted at the ITGC experimental station in Sétif. The infected plants of the different chickpea genotypes have shown multiple symptoms in the field caused by the local strain of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cecris belonging to race II of the pathogen. These symptoms ranged from lateral or partial wilting of some ramifications to total desiccation of the plant, sometimes combined with the very slow growth of symptomatic plants. The results of the search for sources of resistance to Fusarium wilt of chickpeas in the 42 genotypes tested revealed that in terms of infection rate, the presence of 7 groups and no genotype showed absolute resistance. While in terms of severity, the results revealed the presence of three homogeneous groups. The first group formed by the most resistant genotypes, in this case, Flip10-368C; Flip11-77C; Flip11-186C; Flip11-124C; Flip11-142C, Flip11-152C; Flip11-69C; Ghab 05; Flip11-159C; Flip11-90C; Flip10-357C and Flip11-37C while the second group is the FLIP genotype 10-382C which was found to be the most sensitive for the natural infection test. Thus, the genotypes of Cicer arietinum L., which have shown significant levels of resistance to Fusarium wilt, can be integrated into breeding and improvement programs.

Keywords: chickpea, Cicer arietinum, Fusarium oxysporum, genotype resistance

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Authors: Mohammed Flaih Alotaibi, Rasheed Ahemad Shaik, Mohammed Z. Nasrullah

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Diabetic foot ulcers are the foremost global healthcare burden. Hyperglycemia in diabetics is incriminating in impeding wound healing and it can allow for more severe medical issues. The study was intended to establish a nanoconjugate of cordycepin-melittin (COR-MEL) and evaluate its healing effects in wounded diabetic rats. Diabetes induced by injecting streptozotocin intraperitoneally (50 mg/kg, body weight). Therefore, animals were classified into various groups; diabetic untreated, vehicle-treated, COR alone, MEL alone, and COR-MEL nanoconjugate treated, respectively. Animals with diabetes were exposed to excision and treated with Vehicle, COR, MEL, or COR-MEL nanoconjugate topically. After 14 days, the wounded skin was sliced and subjected to histological and biochemical assessments. The formulated nanoconjugate has a particle size of 253.5± 17.4 nm by a polydispersity index of 0.36 ± 0.05, and a zeta potential of 1.72 ± 0.3 mV. The study demonstrated an accelerated wound contraction in COR-MEL-treated diabetic rats, which was further validated by histological analysis. The nanoconjugate further exhibited antioxidant activities by inhibiting the accumulation of malondialdehyde and exhaustion of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase enzymatic activities. The nanoconjugate further demonstrated an enhanced anti-inflammatory activity by retarding the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α). Additionally, the nanoconjugate exhibits a strong expression of growth factors (TGF-β1, VEGF-A, and PDGFR-β), indicating enrichment of proliferation. Likewise, nanoconjugate increased the concentration of hydroxyproline as well as the mRNA expression of collagen, type I, alpha 1. Thus, it is concluded that the nanoconjugate possesses a potent wound-healing activity in diabetic rats via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenetic mechanisms.

Keywords: diabetic wounds, cordycepin, melittin, nanoconjugate, wound healing

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Authors: Dana J. Abed, Mu'tasim S. Abdel-Jaber, Nasim K. Shatarat

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In this paper, an experimental study on twelve square columns was conducted to investigate the influence of cross-sectional size on axial compressive capacity of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) wrapped square reinforced concrete (RC) short columns subjected to eccentric loadings. The columns were divided into three groups with three cross sections (200×200×1200, 250×250×1500 and 300×300×1800 mm). Each group was tested under two different eccentricities: 10% and 20% of the width of samples measured from the center of the column cross section. Four columns were developed in each arrangement. Two columns in each category were left unwrapped as control samples, and two were wrapped with one layer CFRP perpendicular to the specimen surface. In general; CFRP sheets has enhanced the performance of the strengthened columns compared to the control columns. It was noticed that the percentage of compressive capacity enhancement was decreased by increasing the cross-sectional size, and increasing loading eccentricity generally leads to reduced load bearing capacity in columns. In the same group specimens, when the eccentricity increased the percentage of enhancement in load carrying capacity was increased. The study concludes that the optimum use of the CFRP sheets for axial strength enhancement is for smaller cross-section columns under higher eccentricities.

Keywords: CFRP, columns, eccentric loading, cross-sectional

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Authors: M. Attom, F. Abed, M. Elemam, M. Nazal, N. ElMessalami

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—The main objective of this paper is to study the effect of treated waste-water (TWW) on the compaction and compressibility properties of fine soil. Two types of fine soils (clayey soils) were selected for this study and classified as CH soil and Cl type of soil. Compaction and compressibility properties such as optimum water content, maximum dry unit weight, consolidation index and swell index, maximum past pressure and volume change were evaluated using both tap and treated waste water. It was found that the use of treated waste water affects all of these properties. The maximum dry unit weight increased for both soils and the optimum water content decreased as much as 13.6% for highly plastic soil. The significant effect was observed in swell index and swelling pressure of the soils. The swell indexed decreased by as much as 42% and 33% for highly plastic and low plastic soils, respectively, when TWW is used. Additionally, the swelling pressure decreased by as much as 16% for both soil types. The result of this research pointed out that the use of treated waste water has a positive effect on compaction and compression properties of clay soil and promise for potential use of this water in engineering applications. Keywords—Consolidation, proctor compaction, swell index, treated waste-water, volume change.

Keywords: consolidation, proctor compaction, swell index, treated waste-water, volume change

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Authors: Zahraa Al Ali, Ammar Abulibdeh, Talal Al-Awadhi, Midhun Mohan, Mohammed Al-Barwani, Mohammed Al-Barwani, Sara Al Nabbi, Meshal Abdullah

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This study aims to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of six spectral water indices - derived from Multispectral sentinel-2 data - to detect soil moisture and inundated area in arid regions to be used as an indicator of mudflow phenomena to predict high-risk areas. Herein, the validation of the performance of spectral indices was conducted using threshold method, spectral curve performance, and soil-line method. These indirect validation techniques play a key role in saving time, effort, and cost, particularly for large-scale and inaccessible areas. It was observed that the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (mNDWI), and RSWIR indices have the potential to detect soil moisture and inundated areas in arid regions. According to the temporal spectral curve performance, the spectral characteristics of water and soil moisture were distinct in the Near infrared (NIR), Short-wave Infrared (SWIR1,2) bands. However, the rate and degree differed between these bands, depending on the amount of water in the soil. Furthermore, the soil line method supported the appropriate selection of threshold values to detect soil moisture. However, the threshold values varied with location, time, season, and between indices. We concluded that considering the factors influencing the behavior of water and soil reflectivity could support decision-makers in identifying high-risk mudflow locations.

Keywords: spectral reflectance curve, soil-line method, spectral indices, Shaheen cyclone

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Authors: Abdulrahman A. Bahaddad, Mohammed Beshir

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The objective of this paper is to demonstrate and describe eight different types of power generation technologies and to understand the history and future trends of each technology. In addition, a comparative analysis between these technologies will be presented with respect to their cost analysis and associated performance.

Keywords: conventional power generation, economic analysis, environmental impact, renewable energy power generation

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Authors: Mohammed A. Al-Ajmi, Reem S. Al-Kandari

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This study is concerned with the behavior of engineering students in Kuwait University which became a concern due to the global issues of education in all levels. A survey has been conducted to identify academic and societal issues that affect the engineering student performance through. The study is drawing major conclusions with regard to private tutoring and the online availability of textbooks’ solution manuals.

Keywords: solution manual, engineering, textbook, ethics

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Authors: Thinakar Mani Balusamy, Ratnakar S. Kini, Bharat Narasimhan, Venkateswaran A. R, Pugazhendi Thangavelu, Mohammed Ali, Prem Kumar K., Kani Sheikh M., Sibi Thooran Karmegam, Radhakrishnan N., Mohammed Noufal

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Introduction: Pancreatic injury remains a complicated condition requiring an individualized case by case approach to management. In this study, we aim to analyze the varied presentations and treatment outcomes of traumatic pancreatic injury in a tertiary care center. Methods: All consecutive patients hospitalized at our center with traumatic pancreatic injury between 2013 and 2017 were included. The American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) classification was used to stratify patients into five grades of severity. Outcome parameters were then analyzed based on the treatment modality employed. Results: Of the 35 patients analyzed, 26 had an underlying blunt trauma with the remaining nine presenting due to penetrating injury. Overall in-hospital mortality was 28%. 19 of these patients underwent exploratory laparotomy with the remaining 16 managed nonoperatively. Nine patients had a severe injury ( > grade 3) – of which four underwent endotherapy, three had stents placed and one underwent an endoscopic pseudocyst drainage. Among those managed nonoperatively, three underwent a radiological drainage procedure. Conclusion: Mortality rates were clearly higher in patients managed operatively. This is likely a result of significantly higher degrees of major associated non-pancreatic injuries and not just a reflection of surgical morbidity. Despite this, surgical management remains the mainstay of therapy, especially in higher grades of pancreatic injury. However we would like to emphasize that endoscopic intervention definitely remains the preferred treatment modality when the clinical setting permits. This is especially applicable in cases of main pancreatic duct injury with ascites as well as pseudocysts.

Keywords: endotherapy, non-operative management, surgery, traumatic pancreatic injury

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Authors: Bouabdellah Abed, Mohamed Bouzit, Lakhdar Bouarbi

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The objective of this study is to investigate numerically the effect of roof shaped on wind flow and pollutant dispersion in a street canyon with one row of trees of pore volume, Pvol = 96%. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for evaluating air flow and pollutant dispersion within an urban street canyon using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations and the k-Epsilon EARSM turbulence model as close of the equation system. The numerical model is performed with ANSYS-CFX code. Vehicle emissions were simulated as double line sources along the street. The numerical model was validated against the wind tunnel experiment. Having established this, the wind flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons of six roof shapes are simulated. The numerical simulation agrees reasonably with the wind tunnel data. The results obtained in this work, indicate that the flow in 3D domain is more complicated, this complexity is increased with presence of tree and variability of the roof shapes. The results also indicated that the largest pollutant concentration level for two walls (leeward and windward wall) is observed with the upwind wedge-shaped roof. But the smallest pollutant concentration level is observed with the dome roof-shaped. The results also indicated that the corners eddies provide additional ventilation and lead to lower traffic pollutant concentrations at the street canyon ends.

Keywords: street canyon, pollutant dispersion, trees, building configuration, numerical simulation, k-Epsilon EARSM

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Authors: Halima Djaaboube, Redha Aouati, Ibtissem Loucif, Yassine Bouachiba, Mouad Chettab, Adel Taabouche, Sihem Abed, Salima Ouendadji, Abderrahmane Bouabellou

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Thin films of pure and barium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) were prepared using spray pyrolysis process. The films were deposited on glass substrates at 450°C. The different samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal the formation of a single ZnO Wurtzite structure and the good crystallinity of the films. The substitution of Ba ions influences the texture of the layers and makes the (002) plane a preferential growth plane. At concentrations below 6% Ba, the hexagonal structure of ZnO undergoes compressive stresses due to barium ions which have a radius twice of the Zn ions. This result leads to the decrees of a and c parameters and therefore the volume of the unit cell. This result is confirmed by the decrease in the number of crystallites and the increase in the size of the crystallites. At concentrations above 6%, barium substitutes the zinc atom and modifies the structural parameters of the thin layers. The bandgap of ZnO films decreased with increasing doping, this decrease is probably due to the 4d orbitals of the Ba atom due to the sp-d spin-exchange interactions between the band electrons and the localized d-electrons of the substituted Ba ion. Although, the Urbache energy undergoes an increase which implies the creation of energy levels below the conduction band and decreases the band gap width. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO doped 9% Ba was evaluated by the photodegradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation.

Keywords: barium, doping, photodegradation, spray pyrolysis, ZnO.

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Authors: Younes Abed

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The successful application of in-situ testing of soils heavily depends on development of interpretation methods of tests. The pressuremeter test simulates the expansion of a cylindrical cavity and because it has well defined boundary conditions, it is more unable to rigorous theoretical analysis (i. e. cavity expansion theory) then most other in-situ tests. In this article, and in order to make the identification process more convenient, we propose a relatively simple procedure which involves the numerical identification of some mechanical parameters of a granular soil, especially, the elastic modulus and the friction angle from a pressuremeter curve. The procedure, applied here to identify the parameters of generalised prager model associated to the Drucker & Prager criterion from a pressuremeter curve, is based on an inverse analysis approach, which consists of minimizing the function representing the difference between the experimental curve and the curve obtained by integrating the model along the loading path in in-situ testing. The numerical process implemented here is based on the established finite element program. We present a validation of the proposed approach by a database of tests on expansion of cylindrical cavity. This database consists of four types of tests; thick cylinder tests carried out on the Hostun RF sand, pressuremeter tests carried out on the Hostun sand, in-situ pressuremeter tests carried out at the site of Fos with marine self-boring pressuremeter and in-situ pressuremeter tests realized on the site of Labenne with Menard pressuremeter.

Keywords: granular soils, cavity expansion, pressuremeter test, finite element method, identification procedure

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Authors: Jawaher F. Alsharef, Abdullah A. Ghaddaf, Mohammed S. Alomari, Abdullah A. Al Qurashi, Ahmed S. Abdulhamid, Mohammed S. Alshehri, Majed Alosaimi

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Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) is the most popular therapeutic agent for muscle relaxation and pain control. Lately, BTX-A injection received great interest as a part of multimodal pain management for lower limb lengthening and deformity correction. This systematic review aimed to determine the role of BTX-A injection in pain management for during lower limb lengthening and/or deformity correction. We searched Medline, Embase, and CENTRAL. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the BTX-A injection to placebo for individuals undergoing lower limb lengthening and/or deformity correction. We sought to evaluate the following outcomes: pain on visual analogue scale (VAS), range of motion parameters, average opioid consumption, and adverse events. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to represent continuous outcomes while risk ratio (RR) was used to represent dichotomous outcomes. A total of 4 RCTs that enrolled 257 participants (337 limbs) deemed eligible. Adjuvant BTX-A injection showed a significant reduction in post-operative pain compared to placebo (SMD=–0.28, 95% CI –0.53 to –0.04). No difference was found between BTX-A injection and placebo in terms of range of motion parameters, average opioid consumption, or adverse events after surgical limb lengthening and/or deformity correction (RR= 0.77, 95% CI –0.58 to 1.03). Conclusions: Adjuvant BTX-A injection conferred a discernible reduction in post-operative pain during surgical limb lengthening and/or deformity without increasing the risk of adverse events.

Keywords: botulinum toxin type A, limb lengthening, distraction osteogenesis, deformity correction, pain management

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Authors: Mohamed Bendahmane, Brahim Elfalaki, Mohammed Benattou

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One of the major sources of learners' professional difficulties is their heterogeneity. Whether on cognitive, social, cultural or emotional level, learners being part of the same group have many differences. These differences do not allow to apply the same learning process at all learners. Thus, an optimal learning path for one, is not necessarily the same for the other. We present in this paper a model-oriented service to offer to each learner a personalized learning path to acquire the targeted skills.

Keywords: learning path, web service, trace analysis, personalization

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Authors: El Asnaoui Khalid, Aksasse Brahim, Ouanan Mohammed

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This paper presents an unsupervised color image segmentation method. It is based on a hierarchical analysis of 2-D histogram in RGB color space. This histogram minimizes storage space of images and thus facilitates the operations between them. The improved segmentation approach shows a better identification of objects in a color image and, at the same time, the system is fast.

Keywords: image segmentation, hierarchical analysis, 2-D histogram, classification

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Authors: Yousef Alqaryouti, Mariam Al Suwaidi, Raed Mohmood AlKhuwaildi, Hind Kolthoum, Issa Youssef, Mohammed Al Imam

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The UAE has experienced rapid economic growth due to its mature oil production industry, leading to a surge in urbanization and infrastructure development in the construction sector. Sustainable development practices are becoming increasingly important, and the UAE government has taken proactive measures to promote them, including the introduction of sustainable building codes, energy-efficient technologies, and renewable energy sources. Initiatives such as the Masdar City project and the Emirates Green Building Council further demonstrate the government's commitment to a cleaner and healthier environment. By adopting sustainable practices, the UAE can reduce its carbon footprint, lessen its reliance on fossil fuels, and achieve cost savings in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a thorough review of the current state of sustainability in the construction industry of the UAE. Our research methodology includes a local market survey and qualitative observational analysis of executed housing construction projects by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment. The market survey assesses eleven different challenging factors that affect sustainable construction project delivery. The qualitative observational research is based on data collected from three projects, including construction progress, bill of quantity, and construction program. The study concludes that addressing these challenges requires a collaborative team approach, incentivized contracts, traditional project management practices, an integrated project team, and an increase in sustainability awareness among stakeholders. The recommendations proposed in this study aim to promote and improve the application of sustainability in the UAE's construction industry for the future.

Keywords: sustainability, construction, challenges, opportunities, case study, market survey

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Authors: Dilshad Ali Mohammed, Ziyad Nayef Shamsulddin Aldoski, Millet Salim Mohammed

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The increase in levels of traffic congestion along urban signalized arterials needs efficient traffic management. The application of traffic signal coordination can improve the traffic operation and safety for a series of signalized intersection along the arterials. The objective of this study is to evaluate the benefits achievable through actuated traffic signal coordination and make a comparison in control delay against the same signalized intersection in case of being isolated. To accomplish this purpose, a series of eight signalized intersections located on two major arterials in Duhok City was chosen for conducting the study. Traffic data (traffic volumes, link and approach speeds, and passenger car equivalent) were collected at peak hours. Various methods had been used for collecting data such as video recording technique, moving vehicle method and manual methods. Geometric and signalization data were also collected for the purpose of the study. The coupling index had been calculated to check the coordination attainability, and then time space diagrams were constructed representing one-way coordination for the intersections on Barzani and Zakho Streets, and others represented two-way coordination for the intersections on Zakho Street with accepted progression bandwidth efficiency. The results of this study show great progression bandwidth of 54 seconds for east direction coordination and 17 seconds for west direction coordination on Barzani Street under suggested controlled speed of 60 kph agreeable with the present data. For Zakho Street, the progression bandwidth is 19 seconds for east direction coordination and 18 seconds for west direction coordination under suggested controlled speed of 40 kph. The results show that traffic signal coordination had led to high reduction in intersection control delays on both arterials.

Keywords: bandwidth, congestion, coordination, traffic, signals, streets

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Authors: Emmanuel Kamal Aziz Saba, Gihan Abd El-Lateif Younis El-Tantawi, Mohammed Hamdy Zahran, Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim, Mohammed Abd El-Salam Shehata, Hussein Al-Moghazy Sultan, Medhat

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Pelvic floor electrophysiological tests are essential for assessment of patients with obstructed defecation. The present study was conducted to determine the different patterns of pelvic floor electrophysiology that are associated with obstructed defecation. The present cross sectional study included 25 patients with obstructed defecation. A control group of 20 apparently healthy subjects were included. All patients were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, proctosigmoidoscopy, lateral proctography (evacuation proctography), dynamic pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, anal manometry and electrophysiological studies. Electrophysiological studies were including pudendal nerve motor conduction study, pudendo-anal reflex, needle electromyography of external anal sphincter and puborectalis muscles, pudendal somatosensory evoked potential and tibial somatosensory evoked potential. The control group was subjected to electrophysiological studies which included pudendal nerve motor conduction study, pudendo-anal reflex, pudendal somatosensory evoked potential and tibial somatosensory evoked potential. The most common pelvic floor electrodiagnostic pattern characteristics of obstructed defecation was pudendal neuropathy, denervation and anismus of external anal sphincter and puborectalis with complete interference pattern of external anal sphincter and puborectalis at squeezing and cough and no localized defect in external anal sphincter. In conclusion, there were characteristic pelvic floor electrodiagnostic patterns associated with obstructed defecation.

Keywords: obstructed defecation, pudendal nerve terminal motor latency, pudendoanal reflex, sphincter electromyography

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Authors: Mohammed Yagoub

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The new orientation to the market economy sponsored by the Algeria government in the early Nineties of the last century, and its desire to develop investment mechanisms and the promotion of development recently, the access into a partnership with the European Union, and the forthcoming accession to the World Trade Organization, foreign direct investment makes one of the most important means of opening up to foreign markets and bring technology and interact with globalization, this article we will discuss the impact of FDI on economic growth in the Algerian.

Keywords: economic, development, markets, FDI, displacement, globalization

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Authors: Ramadan Ali Bawa, Ebtisam Mohammed Alzaraide

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The spectroscopic study on 4-(9-anthrylazo) phenol has revealed that the azo dye under study exists in two tautomeric forms which are azo phenol and hydrazo keto forms in ratio of almost (1:1). The azo hydrazone tautomerism was confirmed by the use of IR spectroscopy and HNMR in which the characteristic absorption bands and chemical shifts for both tautomers were assigned.

Keywords: spectroscopic, tautomeric forms, azo hydrazone tautomerism, IR spectroscopy, HNMR

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Authors: Mohand Kessal, Rachid Boucetta, Mourad Tikobaini, Mohammed Zamoum

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Leakage problem of two-component fluids flow is modeled for a transient one-dimensional homogeneous bubbly flow and developed by taking into account the effect of a leak located at the middle point of the pipeline. The corresponding three conservation equations are numerically resolved by an improved characteristic method. The obtained results are explained and commented in terms of physical impact on the flow parameters.

Keywords: fluid transients, pipelines leaks, method of characteristics, leakage problem

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Authors: Lowai Abed

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The differences in languages play a big role in cross-cultural communication. If meanings are not translated accurately, the risk can be crucial not only on an interpersonal level, but also on the international and political levels. The use of metaphorical language by politicians can cause great confusion, often leading to statements being misconstrued. In these situations, it is the translators who struggle to put forward the intended meaning with clarity and this makes translation an important field to study and analyze when it comes to cross-cultural communication. Owing to the growing importance of language and the power of translation in politics, this research analyzes part of President Bush’s speech in 2001 in which he used the word “Crusade” which caused his statement to be misconstrued. The research uses a discourse analysis of cross-cultural communication literature which provides answers supported by historical, linguistic, and communicative perspectives. The first finding indicates that the word ‘crusade’ carries different meaning and significance in the narratives of the Western world when compared to the Middle East. The second one is that, linguistically, maintaining cultural meanings through translation is quite difficult and challenging. Third, when it comes to the cross-cultural communication perspective, the common and frequent usage of literal translation is a sign of poor strategies being followed in translation training. Based on the example of Bush’s speech, this paper hopes to highlight the weak practices in translation in cross-cultural communication which are still commonly used across the world. Translation studies have to take issues such as this seriously and attempt to find a solution. In every language, there are words and phrases that have cultural, historical and social meanings that are woven into the language. Literal translation is not the solution for this problem because that strategy is unable to convey these meanings in the target language.

Keywords: crusade, metaphor, mistranslation, war in terror

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Authors: Mohammed Jamal Al-Mansor, Kok Beng Gan

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This paper develops an optimized embedding of payload in medical image by using genetic optimization. The goal is to preserve region of interest from being distorted because of the watermark. By using this developed system there is no need of manual defining of region of interest through experts as the system will apply the genetic optimization to select the parts of image that can carry the watermark with guaranteeing less distortion. The experimental results assure that genetic based optimization is useful for performing steganography with less mean square error percentage.

Keywords: AES, DWT, genetic algorithm, watermarking

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Authors: Imane El Karaoui, Mohammed Maaroufi, Hamid Chaikhy

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Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is one of the most reliable wind generator. Major problem in wind power generation is to generate Sinusoidal signal with very low THD on variable speed caused by inverter two levels used. This paper presents a multi-level inverter whose objective is to reduce the THD and the dimensions of the output filter. This work proposes a three-level NPC-type inverter, the results simulation are presented demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed inverter.

Keywords: DFIG, multilevel inverter, NPC inverter, THD, induction machine

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Authors: Wa`d Odeh, Alon Tal, Alfred Abed Rabbo, Nader Al Khatib, Shai Arnon

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The presence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in raw sewage and effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been increasingly studied in the last few decades. Higher risks are said to characterize situations where raw sewage streams are found to be flowing, or where partial and inadequate wastewater treatment exists. Such conditions are prevalent in the West Bank area of Palestine. To our knowledge, no previous data concerning the occurrence and fate of EDCs in the aquatic environment has ever been systematically evaluated in the region. Hence, the main objective of this study was to identify the occurrence and concentrations of major EDCs in raw sewage, wastewater effluents produced by treatment plants and in the receiving environments, including streams and groundwater in the West Bank, Palestine. Water samples were collected and analyzed for four times during the years of 2013 and 2014. Two large-scale conventional activated sludge WWTPs, two wastewater watercourses, one naturally perennial stream, and five groundwater locations close to wastewater sources were sampled and analyzed by GC/MS following EPA methods (525.2). Five EDCs (estriol, estrone, testosterone, bisphenol A, and octylphenol) were detected in trace concentrations (ng/l) in wastewater streams and at inputs to WWTPs. WWTPs were not able to achieve complete removal of all EDCs, and EDCs were still found in the effluents. In this regard, the most significant environmental estrogenic impact was due to estrone concentrations. Nevertheless, no EDCs were detected in groundwater. Yet, in order for effluents to be reused, significant improvement in treatment infrastructure should be a top priority for environmental managers in the region.

Keywords: endocrine disrupting compounds, raw sewage streams, conventional activated sludge WWTPs, WWTPs effluents

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Authors: Nour Elhouda Abed, Bedj Mimi, Wahid Slimani, Mourad Atif, Abdelhakim Ouzzane, Hocine Irekti, Abdelkader Bekki

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The most frequent system of cereal production in Algeria is fallow-wheat. This is an extensive system that meets only the half needs some cereals and fodder demand. Resorption of fallow has become a strategic necessity to ensure food security in response to the instability of supply and the persistence of higher food prices on the world market. Despite several attempts to replace the fallow by crop cultures, choosing the best crop remains. Today, the agronomic and economic interests of legumes are demonstrated. However, their crop culture remains marginalized because of the weakness and instability of their performance. In the context of improving legumes and cereals crops as well as fallow resorption, we undertook to test, in the field, the effect of rhizobial inoculation of Phaseolus vulgaris in association with Zea Mays. We firstly studied the genetic diversity of rhizobial strains that nodulate P.vulgaris isolated from fifteen (15) different regions. ARDRA had shown 18 different genetic profiles. Symbiotic characterization highlighted a strain that highly significantly improved the fresh and dry weight of the host plant, in comparison to the negative control (un-inoculated) and the positive control (inoculated with the reference strain CIAT 899). In the field, the selected strain increased significantly the growth and yield of P.vulgaris and Zea Mays comparing to the non-inoculated control. However, the mix inoculation (selected strain+ Ciat 899) had not given the best parameters showing, thus, no synergy between the strains. These results indicate the replacing fallow by a crop legume in intercropping with cereals crops.

Keywords: fallow, intercropping, inoculation, legumes-cereals

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Authors: Abdelhalim. N. Mohammed, Mohammed. Y. Esmail

Abstract:

In the course of recent decades, medical imaging has been dominated by the use of costly film media for review and archival of medical investigation, however due to developments in networks technologies and common acceptance of a standard digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) another approach in light of World Wide Web was produced. Web technologies successfully used in telemedicine applications, the combination of web technologies together with DICOM used to design a web-based and open source DICOM viewer. The Web server allowance to inquiry and recovery of images and the images viewed/manipulated inside a Web browser without need for any preinstalling software. The dynamic site page for medical images visualization and processing created by using JavaScript and HTML5 advancements. The XAMPP ‘apache server’ is used to create a local web server for testing and deployment of the dynamic site. The web-based viewer connected to multiples devices through local area network (LAN) to distribute the images inside healthcare facilities. The system offers a few focal points over ordinary picture archiving and communication systems (PACS): easy to introduce, maintain and independently platforms that allow images to display and manipulated efficiently, the system also user-friendly and easy to integrate with an existing system that have already been making use of web technologies. The wavelet-based image compression technique on which 2-D discrete wavelet transform used to decompose the image then wavelet coefficients are transmitted by entropy encoding after threshold to decrease transmission time, stockpiling cost and capacity. The performance of compression was estimated by using images quality metrics such as mean square error ‘MSE’, peak signal to noise ratio ‘PSNR’ and compression ratio ‘CR’ that achieved (83.86%) when ‘coif3’ wavelet filter is used.

Keywords: DICOM, discrete wavelet transform, PACS, HIS, LAN

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Samar Saadeldin Abdelmotalab Omer, Ikram Mohammed Eltayeb Elsiddig, Amna Beshir Medani Ahmed, Saad Mohammed Hussein Ayoub

Abstract:

Many herbal medicinal products are considered as potential hypocholesterolemic agents with encouraging safety profiles, however, only a limited amount of clinical research exists to support their efficacy. The present study was designed to compare the antihypercholesterolaemic and antioxidant activities of the crude ethanolic extracts of Citrus reticulata peel, Zingiber officinale rhizome, and Sesamum indicum seeds. Forty-five rats were used throughout the experiment, which were divided into nine groups, five rats in each as follows; normal control group (normal rats fed with standard normal diet), rats fed hypercholesterolemic diet consisting of 1% cholesterol and 10% saturated animal fat, which were further divided into eight groups; hypercholesterolemic control group (rats only fed hypercholesterolemic diet), groups 3,4,5,6,7, and 8 were given Citrus reticulata, Zingiber officinale, and Sesamum indicum ethanolic extracts at doses of (250mg/kg and 500mg/kg, respectively) orally; and group 9 rats were given atorvastatin (0.18mg/kg) orally as a reference antihypercholesterolaemic drug. Blood samples were obtained four weeks following treatment from the retro-orbital venous plexus after fasting overnight from all groups and the lipid profile (serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides levels) was measured and the risk ratio (TC/HDL-C) was assessed. The antioxidant activity of the three plant extracts was determined using DPPH free-radical assay. Results of in vivo and in vitro antihypercholesterolaemic and antioxidant assay, respectively, revealed that the three extracts possess comparable antioxidant and anti-hypercholesterolaemic activities.

Keywords: anti hypercholesterolemic effects, antioxidant activity, HDL, LDL, TC, TGs, citrus reticulata, sesamum indicum, zingiber officinale

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Mohammed Al-Yamani, Yaser Miaji

Abstract:

DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation Department (CSI) have been experiencing difficulties while comparing quotes for different customers in different years. Currently, the employees are processing data by opening several loaded Excel files where the quotes are and manually copying values to another Excel Workbook where the comparison is made. This project consists of developing a new and effective database for DHL CSI department so that information is stored altogether on the same catalog. That being said, we have been assigned to find an efficient algorithm that can deal with the different formats of the Excel Workbooks to copy and store the express customer rates for core products (DOX, WPX, IMP) for comparisons purposes.

Keywords: DHL, solution design, ORACLE, EXCEL

Procedia PDF Downloads 411

Authors: Muneera Mohammed Al-Dossary, Fatimah Mohammed Al-Dossary, Mashael Al-Shahrani, Amal Al-Tammemi

Abstract:

Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JAHA), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Johns Hopkins Medicine, delivers comprehensive healthcare services to a diverse patient population. Despite achieving high patient satisfaction rates and surpassing several operational targets, JAHA faces challenges such as appointment delays and resource inefficiencies. These issues highlight the need for an advanced, integrated approach to operational management. This paper proposes a Business Intelligence (BI) framework to address these challenges, leveraging tools such as Epic electronic health records and Tableau dashboards. The framework focuses on data integration, real-time monitoring, and predictive analytics to streamline operations and enhance decision-making. Key outcomes include reduced wait times (e.g., a 23% reduction in specialty clinic wait times) and improved operating room efficiency (from 95.83% to 98% completion rates). These advancements align with JAHA’s strategic objectives of optimizing resource utilization and delivering superior patient care. The findings underscore the transformative potential of BI in healthcare, enabling a shift from reactive to proactive operations management. The success of this implementation lays the foundation for future innovations, including machine learning models for more precise demand forecasting and resource allocation.

Keywords: business intelligence, operational efficiency, healthcare management, predictive analytics, patient care improvement, data integration, real-time monitoring, resource optimization, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, electronic health records, Tableau dashboards, predictive modeling, efficiency metrics, resource utilization, patient satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 8