Search results for: Mohamed Ahmed M. Azab

Authors: L. Abdou, O. Taibaoui, A. Moumen, A. Talib Ahmed

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This paper proposes an application of the simulated annealing to optimize the detection threshold in an ordered statistics constant false alarm rate (OS-CFAR) system. Using conventional optimization methods, such as the conjugate gradient, can lead to a local optimum and lose the global optimum. Also for a system with a number of sensors that is greater than or equal to three, it is difficult or impossible to find this optimum; Hence, the need to use other methods, such as meta-heuristics. From a variety of meta-heuristic techniques, we can find the simulated annealing (SA) method, inspired from a process used in metallurgy. This technique is based on the selection of an initial solution and the generation of a near solution randomly, in order to improve the criterion to optimize. In this work, two parameters will be subject to such optimisation and which are the statistical order (k) and the scaling factor (T). Two fusion rules; “AND” and “OR” were considered in the case where the signals are independent from sensor to sensor. The results showed that the application of the proposed method to the problem of optimisation in a distributed system is efficiency to resolve such problems. The advantage of this method is that it allows to browse the entire solutions space and to avoid theoretically the stagnation of the optimization process in an area of local minimum.

Keywords: distributed system, OS-CFAR system, independent sensors, simulating annealing

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Authors: Mohamed Eusuff Amin

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In Sufi culture, humour in form of story, expressed as prose or poetry, is used to deliver moral lessons. However, this humour is not limited to telling stories as an educational program. In this paper, an idea is introduced to argue that humour is a virtue from the Sufis’ perspective. This understanding of humour is different than as what has been understood generally in the Western intellectual tradition. For the Western philosophers in general, humour is the indication of the soul’s position in relates to others that signify the relations between different individuals. But for the Sufis, it is more so as a tool for an individual to surpass his/her anger and encourage toleration with others; ultimately it is a form of ‘mercy’. In order to explain this idea, the paper will be worked into three parts as steps to construct the epistemic structure of this claim. The first part, the ethic philosophy of the Sufis will be discussed, and this will be done mostly based on the ideas on ethics that is related to the conception of existence. In the second part, few short Turkish Sufi stories will be looked at to find how the humour is applied in relation to the objective of the stories. After that, how humour can be a principle in ethic will be discussed by making some comparisons with what already taught as philosophy of humour in the West under the groups of incongruity, superiority, and relief theories. Therefore, in the end, we shall argue that to find humour in every situation is a recommended virtue for, providing that it surpassing anger of oneself and encourage toleration for others as an act of mercy.

Keywords: epistemology, ethic, sufism, virtue

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Authors: Wafaa M. El- Kotb, Soheir Mohamed Weheida, Manal E. Fareed

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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of implementing a teaching module about diet and exercises on clinical outcomes of patients with gout. Subjects: A purposive sample of 60 adult gouty patients was selected and randomly and alternatively divided into two equal groups 30 patients in each. Setting: The study was conducted in orthopedic out patient's clinic of Menoufia University. Tools of the study: Three tools were utilized for data collection: Knowledge assessment structured interview questionnaire, Clinical manifestation assessment tools and Nutritional assessment sheet. Results: All patients of both groups (100 %) had poor total knowledge score pre teaching, while 90 % of the study group had good total knowledge score post teaching by three months compared to 3.3 % of the control group. Moreover the recovery outcomes were significantly improved among study group compared to control group post teaching. Conclusion: Teaching study group about diet and exercises significantly improved their clinical outcomes. Recommendation: Patient's education about diet and exercises should be ongoing process for patients with gout.

Keywords: clinical outcomes, diet, exercises, teaching module

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Authors: Ahsan Abdullah, Ahmed A. S. Bakshwain

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Livestock is one of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture. If carefully managed, have potential opportunities for economic growth, food sovereignty and food security. In this study we mainly analyse and compare long-term i.e. for year 2030 climate variability impact on predicted productivity of meat i.e. beef, mutton and poultry for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia w.r.t three factors i.e. i) climatic-change vulnerability ii) CO2 fertilization and iii) water scarcity and compare the results with two countries of the region i.e. Iraq and Yemen. We do the analysis using data from diverse sources, which was extracted, transformed and integrated before usage. The collective impact of the three factors had an overall negative effect on the production of meat for all the three countries, with adverse impact on Iraq. High similarity was found between CO2 fertilization (effecting animal fodder) and water scarcity i.e. higher than that between production of beef and mutton for the three countries considered. Overall, the three factors do not seem to be favorable for the three Middle-East countries considered. This points to possibility of a vegetarian year 2030 based on dependency on indigenous live-stock population.

Keywords: prediction, animal-source foods, pastures, CO2 fertilization, climatic-change vulnerability, water scarcity

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Authors: Awad Hassoup, Sayed Abdallah, Mohamed Dahy

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Northern Egypt is known to be seismically active from the past several thousand years, based on the historical records and documents of eyewitnesses on one- hand and instrumental records on the other hand. Instrumental, historical and pre- historical seismicity data indicate that large destructive earthquakes have occurred quite frequently in the investigated area. The interaction of the African, Arabian, Eurasian plates and Sinai sub-plate is the main factor behind the seismicity of northern part of Egypt. All earthquakes occur at shallow depth and are concentrated at four seismic zones, these zones including the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, around the entrance of the Gulf of Suez and the fourth one is located at the south- west of great Cairo (Dahshour area). The seismicity map of the previous zones shows that the activity is coincide with the major tectonic trends of the Suez rift, Aqaba rift with their connection with the great rift system of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez- Cairo- Alexandria trend. On the other hand, the focal mechanisms of some earthquakes occurred inside the studied area and having small to moderate size show a variety of patterns. The most predominant type is normal faulting.

Keywords: Northern Egypt, seismic active zone, seismicity, focal mechanism

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Authors: Mohamed Bagues, Ikbel Souli, Feiza Boussora, Kamel Nagaz

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In southern Tunisia, two local barley accessions CV. Ardhaoui; 'Bengardeni' and 'Karkeni' were cultivated in the field under deficit drip irrigation with saline water. Three treatments were used: control or full irrigation T0 (100%ETc) and stressed T1 (75%ETc), T2 (50%ETc). Proline and soluble sugars contents increase significantly under drought between accessions compared to control and varies between growth stages. Moreover, the increasing of Ca2+ concentration enhances the absorption of Na+ ion, consequently K+/Na+ decrease significantly between accessions, these results suggest that a high tolerance of Bengardeni accession to drought stress. Therefore, drought tolerance indices (STI, SSI, MP, GMP, YSI and TOL) were used to identify high yielding and drought tolerant between accessions. MP explained the variation of GYi. GMP and STI explained the variation of GYs. The high values of MP, STI and GMP were associated with higher yielding accession. Higher TOL value is associated with significant grain yield reduction in stressed environment suggesting higher stress responses of accessions. Significant positive correlations between MP, STI and GMP and negative between YSI and SSI. MP, STI, GMP and YSI, TOL, SSI are not correlated with each other.

Keywords: drought, proline, soluble sugars, minerals, yield, drought tolerance indices, barley

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Authors: Tuhina-khatun, Mohamed Hanafi Musa, Mohd Rafii Yosup, Wong Mui Yun, Aktar-uz-Zaman, Mahbod Sahebi

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Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method is valuable tool for identifying differentially regulated genes in disease specific or tissue specific genes important for cellular growth and differentiation. It is a widely used method for separating DNA molecules that distinguish two closely related DNA samples. SSH is one of the most powerful and popular methods for generating subtracted cDNA or genomic DNA libraries. It is based primarily on a suppression polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and combines normalization and subtraction in a solitary procedure. The normalization step equalizes the abundance of DNA fragments within the target population, and the subtraction step excludes sequences that are common to the populations being compared. This dramatically increases the probability of obtaining low-abundance differentially expressed cDNAs or genomic DNA fragments and simplifies analysis of the subtracted library. SSH technique is applicable to many comparative and functional genetic studies for the identification of disease, developmental, tissue specific, or other differentially expressed genes, as well as for the recovery of genomic DNA fragments distinguishing the samples under comparison.

Keywords: suppression subtractive hybridization, differentially expressed genes, disease specific genes, tissue specific genes

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Authors: Md Rafiqul Islam, Ashir Ahmed, Anwaar Ulhaq, Abu Raihan M. Kamal, Yuan Miao, Hua Wang

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Mental health of people is equally important as of their physical health. Mental health and well-being are influenced not only by individual attributes but also by the social circumstances in which people find themselves and the environment in which they live. Like physical health, there is a number of internal and external factors such as biological, social and occupational factors that could influence the mental health of people. People living in poverty, suffering from chronic health conditions, minority groups, and those who exposed to/or displaced by war or conflict are generally more likely to develop mental health conditions. However, to authors’ best knowledge, there is dearth of knowledge on the impact of workplace (especially the highly stressed IT/Tech workplace) on the mental health of its workers. This study attempts to examine the factors influencing the mental health of tech workers. A publicly available dataset containing more than 65,000 cells and 100 attributes is examined for this purpose. Number of machine learning techniques such as ‘Decision Tree’, ‘K nearest neighbor’ ‘Support Vector Machine’ and ‘Ensemble’, are then applied to the selected dataset to draw the findings. It is anticipated that the analysis reported in this study would contribute in presenting useful insights on the attributes contributing in the mental health of tech workers using relevant machine learning techniques.

Keywords: mental disorder, diagnosis, occupational stress, IT workplace

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Authors: Mohamed Amine Helali, Walid Oueslati, Ayed Added

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Sedimentation rates and total fluxes of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn and Cu) was measured in three different depths (10m, 20m and 40m) during March and August 2012, offshore of the Mejerda River outlet (Gulf of Tunis, Tunisia). The sedimentation rates are estimated from the fluxes of the suspended particulate matter at 7.32, 5.45 and 4.39 mm y⁻¹ respectively at 10m, 20m and 40m depth. Heavy metals sequestration in sediments was determined by chemical speciation and the total metal contents in each core collected from 10, 20 and 40m depth. Heavy metals intake to the sediment was measured also from the suspended particulate matter, while the fluxes from the sediment to the water column was determined using the benthic chambers technique and from the diffusive fluxes in the pore water. Results shown that iron is the only metal for which the balance transfer between intake/uptake (45 to 117 / 1.8 to 5.8 g m² y⁻¹) and sequestration (277 to 378 g m² y⁻¹) was negative, at the opposite of the Lead which intake fluxes (360 to 480 mg m² y⁻¹) are more than sequestration fluxes (50 to 92 mg m² y⁻¹). The balance transfer is neutral for Mn, Zn, and Cu. These clearly indicate that the contributions of Mejerda have consistently varied over time, probably due to the migration of the River mouth and to the changes in the mining activity in the Mejerda catchment and the recent human activities which affect the delta area.

Keywords: delta, fluxes, heavy metals, sediments, sedimentation rates

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Authors: Zainurrasyid Abdullah, Mohamed Fadzlee Sulaiman, Muhammad Fadzlan Zainal, M. Zabri Adil Talib, Aswami Fadillah M. Ariffin

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The Onion Router (Tor) browser is a well-known tool and widely used by people who seeking for web anonymity when browsing the internet. Criminals are taking this advantage to be anonymous over the internet. Accessing the dark web could be the significant reason for the criminal in order for them to perform illegal activities while maintaining their anonymity. For a digital forensic analyst, it is crucial to extract the trail of evidence in proving that the criminal’s computer has used Tor browser to conduct such illegal activities. By applying the digital forensic methodology, several techniques could be performed including application analysis, memory analysis, and registry analysis. Since Windows 10 is the latest operating system released by Microsoft Corporation, this study will use Windows 10 as the operating system platform that running Tor browser. From the analysis, significant artifacts left by Tor browser were discovered such as the execution date, application installation date and browsing history that can be used as an evidence. Although Tor browser was designed to achieved anonymity, there is still some trail of evidence can be found in Windows 10 platform that can be useful for investigation.

Keywords: artifacts analysis, digital forensics, forensic analysis, memory analysis, registry analysis, tor browser, Windows 10

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Authors: Ahmed Hamzi, Bryan Norman

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Having scribes help document patient records in electronic health record systems can improve hospitalists’ productivity. But hospitals need to determine the optimum number of scribes to hire to maximize scribe cost effectiveness. Scribe attendance uncertainty due to planned and unplanned absences is a primary challenge. This paper presents simulation and analytical models to determine the optimum number of scribes for a hospital to hire. Scribe staffing practices vary from one context to another; different staffing scenarios are considered where having extra attending scribes provides or does not provide additional value and utilizing on-call scribes to fill in for potentially absent scribes. These staffing scenarios are assessed for different scribe revenue ratios (ratio of the value of the scribe relative to scribe costs) ranging from 100% to 300%. The optimum solution depends on the absenteeism rate, revenue ratio, and desired service level. The analytical model obtains solutions easier and faster than the simulation model, but the simulation model is more accurate. Therefore, the analytical model’s solutions are compared with the simulation model’s solutions regarding both the number of scribes hired and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, an Excel tool has been developed to facilitate decision-makers in easily obtaining solutions using the analytical model.

Keywords: hospitalists, workload, optimization cost, economic analysis

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Authors: Leila Momenzadeh, Alexander V. Evteev, Elena V. Levchenko, Tanvir Ahmed, Irina Belova, Graeme Murch

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In this work, the phonon thermal conductivity of f.c.c. Al is investigated in detail in the temperature range 100 – 900 K within the framework of equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations making use of the Green-Kubo formalism and one of the most reliable embedded-atom method potentials. It is found that the heat current auto-correlation function of the f.c.c. Al model demonstrates a two-stage temporal decay similar to the previously observed for f.c.c Cu model. After the first stage of decay, the heat current auto-correlation function of the f.c.c. Al model demonstrates a peak in the temperature range 100-800 K. The intensity of the peak decreases as the temperature increases. At 900 K, it transforms to a shoulder. To describe the observed two-stage decay of the heat current auto-correlation function of the f.c.c. Al model, we employ decomposition model recently developed for phonon-mediated thermal transport in a monoatomic lattice. We found that the electronic contribution to the total thermal conductivity of f.c.c. Al dominates over the whole studied temperature range. However, the phonon contribution to the total thermal conductivity of f.c.c. Al increases as temperature decreases. It is about 1.05% at 900 K and about 12.5% at 100 K.

Keywords: aluminum, gGreen-Kubo formalism, molecular dynamics, phonon thermal conductivity

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Authors: Shourav Ahmed, M. Gulam Kibria, Kais Zaman

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Control charts graphically verify variation in quality parameters. Attribute type control charts deal with quality parameters that can only hold two states, e.g., good or bad, yes or no, etc. At present, p-control chart is most commonly used to deal with attribute type data. In construction of p-control chart using binomial distribution, the value of proportion non-conforming must be known or estimated from limited sample information. As the probability distribution of fraction non-conforming (p) is considered in hyperbinomial distribution unlike a constant value in case of binomial distribution, it reduces the risk of false detection. In this study, a statistical control chart is proposed based on hyperbinomial distribution when prior estimate of proportion non-conforming is unavailable and is estimated from limited sample information. We developed the control limits of the proposed modified p-chart using the mean and variance of hyperbinomial distribution. The proposed modified p-chart can also utilize additional sample information when they are available. The study also validates the use of modified p-chart by comparing with the result obtained using cumulative distribution function of hyperbinomial distribution. The study clearly indicates that the use of hyperbinomial distribution in construction of p-control chart yields much accurate estimate of quality parameters than using binomial distribution.

Keywords: binomial distribution, control charts, cumulative distribution function, hyper binomial distribution

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Authors: Mohamed M. Alsull

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In the present study, two microalgae species “Nannochloropsis sp. and Tetraselmis sp.” isolated from Penang National Park coastal waters, Malaysia; were cultivated under combined various laboratory conditions “salinity, light, nitrogen limitation and starvation”. Growth rate, dry weight, chlorophyll a content, total lipid and protein contents, were estimated at mid exponential growth phase. Both Nannochloropsis sp. and Tetraselmis sp. showed remarkable decrease in growth rate, chlorophyll a content and protein content companied with increase in lipid content under nitrogen limitation and starvation conditions. Maintaining Nannochloropsis sp. under salinity 15‰ caused only significant decrease in total protein content; while Tetraselmis sp. grown at the same salinity caused decrease in the growth rate, chlorophyll a, dry weight and total protein content only when nitrogen was available.

Keywords: biochemical composition, light, microalgae, nitrogen limitation, salinity

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Authors: Mohamed Ali Alrabib

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This paper introduces a paleoenvironmental and hydrocarbon show in this well was identified in the interval of Dembaba formation to the Hassaona formation was poor to very poor oil show. And from palaeoenvironmental analysis there is neither particularly good reservoir nor source rock have been developed in the area. Recent palaeoenvironment work undertakes that the sedimentary succession in this area comprises the Upper Paleozoic rock of the Carboniferous and Permian and the Mesozoic (Triassic) sedimentary sequences. No early Paleozoic rocks have been found in this area, these rocks were eroding during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian time. During Latest Permian and earliest Triassic time evidence for major marine transgression has occurred. From depths 5930-5940 feet, to 10800-10810 feet, the TAI of the Al Guidr, the Bir Al Jaja Al Uotia, Hebilia and the top varies between 3+ to 4-(mature-dry gas). This interval corporate the rest part of the Dembaba Formation. From depth 10800- 10810 feet, until total sediment depth (11944 feet Log) which corporate the rest of the Dembaba and underlying equivalents of the Assedjefar and M rar Formations and the underlying Indeterminate unit (Hassouna Formation) the TAI varies between 4 and 5 (dry gas-black& deformed).

Keywords: paleoenveronments, thermail index, carboniferous, Libya

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Authors: Prathap S. Raghavendra, Mohamed S. Z. Shamshuddin, Thimmaraju N. Venkatesh

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The transesterification of dimethyl malonate (DMM) with phenol has been studied in vapour phase over cordierite honeycomb coated with solid acid catalysts such as ZrO2,Mo(VI)/ZrO2 and SO42-/ZrO2. The catalytic materials were prepared honeycomb coated and powder forms and characterized for their total surface acidity by NH3-TPD and crystalinity by powder XRD methods. Phenyl methyl malonate (PMM) and diphenyl malonate (DPM) were obtained as the reaction products. A good conversion of DMM (up to 82%) of MPM with 95% selectivity was observed when the reactions were carried out at a catalyst bed temperature of 200 °C and flow-rate of 10 mL/h in presence of Mo(VI)/ZrO2 as catalyst. But over SO42-/ZrO2 catalyst, the yield of DPM was found to be higher. The results have been interpreted based on the variation of acidic properties and powder XRD phases of zirconia on incorporation of Mo(VI) or SO42– ions. Transesterification reactions were also carried out over powder forms of the catalytic materials and the yield of the desired phenyl ester products were compared with that of the HC coated catalytic materials. The solid acids were found to be reusable when used for at least 5 reaction cycles.

Keywords: cordierite honeycomb, methyl phenyl malonate, vapour phase transesterification, zirconia

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Authors: Chirine Aouichaoui, Mohamed Tounsi, Ines Mrizak, Zouhair Tabka, Yassine Trabelsi

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The aim of this study was to provide percentile values for vertical jumping performances and anthropometric characteristics for athletic Tunisian children. One thousand and fifty-five athletic Tunisian children and adolescents (643 boys and 412 girls) aged 7-18 years were randomly selected to participate in our study. They were asked to perform squat jumps and countermovement jumps. For each measurement, a least square regression model with high order polynomials was fitted to predict mean and standard deviation of vertical jumping parameters and anthropometric variables. Smoothed percentile curves and percentile values for the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles are presented for boys and girls. In conclusion, percentiles values of vertical jumping performances and anthropometric characteristics are provided. The new Tunisian reference charts obtained can be used as a screening tool to determine growth disorders and to estimate the proportion of adolescents with high or low muscular strength levels. This study may help in verifying the effectiveness of a specific training program and detecting highly talented athletes.

Keywords: percentile values, jump height, leg muscle power, athletes, anthropometry

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Authors: Wafa Tourab, Abdessalem Babouri, Mohamed Nemamcha

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This work presents an experimental and theoretical characterization of electromagnetic environment in the vicinity of EL-HADJAR high voltage substation located in the eastern Algerian within a very high populated zone. There have been analyses on the effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from coupled multi-lines power systems on the health of the workers and people living in proximity of substations. An experimental investigation has been conducted around a circuit of two 220Kv lines running in parallel. The experimental results are validated by a flexible code of calculus developed in the environment Matlab. The implications of the results are discussed and are in very good agreement with the ICNIRP reference levels for occupational and non-occupational exposures. In a case of study, the separation between the two structures “S” is varied to demonstrate its influence on the electric and magnetic charges quantities generated by the circuit of lines proposed. It is found that increasing S decreases the electric and magnetic fields which occur at the center of the structure then reduces the coupling between lines. We concluded that the evaluation of the spacing between the phase conductors is of paramount interest in the preparation of the line’s implantation inside the electrical posts to reduce them radiations in the environment.

Keywords: low frequency, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic coupling, high voltage power lines

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Authors: Farej Ahmed Emhmmed Alhegagi

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Duplex stainless steels are attractive material for apparatus working with sea water, petroleum, refineries, chemical plants,vessels, and pipes operating at high temperatures and/or pressures. The role of austenite phase in duplex stainless steels performance was investigated. Zeron 100, stainless steels with 50/50 ferrite / austenite %, specimens were tested for strength, toughness, embrittlement susceptibility, and assisted environmental cracking (AEC) resistance. Specimens were heat treated at 475°C for different times and loaded to well- selected values of load. The load values were chosen to be within the range of higher / lower than the expected toughness. Sodium chloride solution 3.5wt% environment with polarity of -900mV / SCE was used to investigate the material susceptibility to (AEC). Results showed important effect of austenite on specimens overall mechanical properties. Strength was affected by the ductile nature of austenite phase leading to plastic deformation accommodated by austenite slip system. Austenite embrittlement, either by decomposition or nucleation and growth process, was not observed to take place during specimens heat treatment. Cracking due to (AEC) took place in the ferrite grains and avoided the austenite phase. Specimens showed the austenite to act as a crack arrestor during (AEC) of duplex stainless steels.

Keywords: austenite phase, mechanical properties, embrittlement susceptibility, duplex stainless steels

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Authors: Raneem O. Salem, Najwa Al-Mously, Nihal Mohamed Nabil, Abdulmohsen H. Al-Zalabani, Abeer F. Al-Dhawi, Nasser Al-Hamdan

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Objective: There are various demographic and educational factors that affect the academic performance of undergraduate medical students. The objective of this study is to identify these factors and correlate them to the GPA of the students. Methods: A cross-sectional study design utilizing grade point averages (GPAs) of two cohorts of students in both levels of the pre-clinical phase. In addition, self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the effect of these factors on students with poor and good cumulative GPA. Results: Among the various factors studied, gender, marital status, and the transportation used to reach the faculty significantly affected academic performance of students. Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater significantly differed than those with a GPA of less than 3.0 being higher in female students, in married students, and type of transportation used to reach the college. Factors including age, educational factors, and type of transportation used have shown to create a significant difference in GPA between male and females. Conclusion: Factors such as age, gender, marital status, learning resources, study time, and the transportation used have been shown to significantly affect medical student GPA as a whole batch as well as when they are tested for gender.

Keywords: academic performance, educational factors, learning resources, study time, gender, socio-demographic factors

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Authors: Mohamed Izzharif Abdul Halim, Niamh Nic Daeid

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Determining the source of pen inks used on a variety of documents is impartial for forensic document examiners. The examination of inks is often performed to differentiate between inks in order to evaluate the authenticity of a document. A ballpoint pen ink consists of synthetic dyes in (acidic and/or basic), pigments (organic and/or inorganic) and a range of additives. Inks of similar color may consist of different composition and are frequently the subjects of forensic examinations. This study emphasizes on blue ballpoint pen inks available in the market because it is reported that approximately 80% of questioned documents analysis involving ballpoint pen ink. Analytical techniques such as thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, UV-vis spectroscopy, luminescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy have been used in the analysis of ink samples. In this study, application of Diamond Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR is straightforward but preferable in forensic science as it offers no sample preparation and minimal analysis time. The data obtained from these techniques were further analyzed using multivariate chemometric methods which enable extraction of more information based on the similarities and differences among samples in a dataset. It was indicated that some pens from the same manufactures can be similar in composition, however, discrete types can be significantly different.

Keywords: ATR FTIR, ballpoint, multivariate chemometric, PCA

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Authors: M. Ben Jrad, A. Belhaj Mohamed, S. Riahi, I. Bouazizi, M. Saidi, M. Soussi

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The generative potential, depositional environment, thermal maturity and oil seeps of the organic-rich Bou Dabbous Formation (Ypresian) from the thrust belt northwestern Tunisia, were determined by Rock Eval and molecular analyses. The paleo-tectonic units in the area show some similarities with equivalent facies in Mediterranean Sea and Sicilian. The Bou Dabbous Formation displays variable source rock characteristics through the various units Tellian and Numidian nappes Units. Organic matter contents and petroleum potentials are fair to high (reaching 1.95% and 6 kg of HC/t of rock respectively) marine type II kerogen. An increasing SE-NW maturity gradient is well documented in the study area. The Bou Dabbous organic-rich facies are marginally mature stage in the Tellian Unit (Kasseb domain), whilst they are mature-late mature stage within Nefza-Ain Allega tectonic windows. A long and north of Cap Serrat-Ghardimaou Master Fault these facies are overmature. Oil/Oil and Oil/source rock correlation, based on biomarker and carbon isotopic composition, shows a positive genetic correlation between the oil seeps and Bou Dabbous source rock.

Keywords: biomarkers, Bou Dabbous Formation, Northern Tunisia, source rock

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Authors: Elsyed Fath Khalifa, Samer Mohamed Daghash

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The present study was carried out to investigate the structure of the masseter muscle of camel and its attachments to the skull as well as the relationships with its arterial blood supply. Fourteen heads of clinically healthy camels of different ages and sexes were used in the present investigation. The both common carotid arteries of six specimens were cannulated and flushed with warm normal saline solution (0.9%) then injected with red colored neoprine (60%) latex in order to study the pattern of the blood supply to the masseter muscle. Two heads were injected with an eventually mixture of 75gm red lead oxide in 150cc latex and preserved in a cold room for 3-4 days then divided sagittaly along the median plane to avoid super imposition of the arteries. The arteries of the masseter muscle of each half were radiographed. Four heads were used in manual dissection to describe the laminar arrangement of the masseter muscle. The masseter muscle of the camel was very tendinous and was situated far caudally, which enable the camel to open its jaw very wide. In the camel, the masseter muscle was recognized into proper and improper masseter groups. The proper group included the first, second superficial, intermediate and deep masseter layers. The improper group consisted of maxillo-mandibularis and zygomatico-mandibularis. The remaining two heads were used for clearance.

Keywords: anatomy, camel, masseter, lamination, blood supply

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Authors: Ahsan Ahmed, Ming Lu, Syed Zaidi, Farhan Khan

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The Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method has been proposed as the solution to tackle complexity and fragmentation in the real world while addressing the construction industry’s growing needs for productivity and sustainability. Although the private sector has taken the initiative in implementing IPD and taken advantage of new technology such as building information modeling (BIM) in delivering projects, IPD remains less known and rarely used in public sector construction. The focus of this paper is set on the use of IPD in projects in public sector, which is potentially complemented by the use of analytical functionalities for workface planning and construction oriented design enabled by recent research advances in BIM. Experiences and lessons learned from implementing IPD in the private sector and in BIM-based construction automation research would play a vital role in reducing barriers and eliminating issues in connection with project delivery in the public sector. The paper elaborates issues challenges, contractual relationships and the interactions throughout the planning, design and construction phases in the context of implementing IPD on construction projects in the public sector. A slab construction case is used as a ‘sandbox’ model to elaborate (1) the ideal way of communication, integration, and collaboration among all the parties involved in project delivery in planning and (2) the execution of projects by using IDP principles and optimization, simulation analyses.

Keywords: integrated project delivery, IPD, building information modeling, BIM

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Authors: Ahmed Farouk Radwan, Sheren Mousa

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There are many laws and regulations governing the use of new and social media in the United Arab Emirates. During the past few years, the importance of using these platforms in the fields of media and government communication has increased, as well as at the level of individual use. In 2016, the National Media Council Law was issued to regulate traditional and new media field, and gave the council the power to oversee and undertake the media affairs in the state. NMC is mandated to: Develop the UAE’s media policy, Draft media legislation and ensure its execution and Prohibited media content ,Co-ordinate the media policy between the emirates in line with the UAE’s domestic and foreign policy, Ensure support for the federation and project national unity. All media organizations in the UAE must comply with the regulations and rules issued by council. Social media influencers have to be licensed by NMC if they accept paid ads to be published on their accounts. The study explores other laws concerning of new media and social media regulations and ethics including Combatting Cybercrimes law, Combating Discrimination and Hatred law, The Government Guidelines for social media users in the UAE, The Guidelines for the practices of electronic participation and social networking, Copyright Law, and Child Rights Law. The study clarifies the legal articles, items and standards in all these laws which related with the new media and social platforms and also determines the prohibited digital practices and the cultural norms governing it.

Keywords: media laws, media ethics, new media , UAE

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Authors: Badr Alsulami, Ahmed S. Elamary

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This paper summarizes and presents main results of an in-depth numerical analysis dealing with the shear buckling resistance of aluminum plate girders. The studies conducted have permitted the development of a simple design expression to determine the critical shear buckling stress in aluminum web panels. This expression takes into account the effects of reduction of strength in aluminum alloys due to the welding process. Ultimate shear resistance (USR) of plate girders can be obtained theoretically using Cardiff theory or Hӧglund’s theory. USR of aluminum alloy plate girders predicted theoretically using BS8118 appear inconsistent when compared with test data. Theoretical predictions based on Hӧglund’s theory, are more realistic. Cardiff theory proposed to predict the USR of steel plate girders only. Welded aluminum alloy plate girders studied experimentally by others; the USR resulted from tests are reviewed. Comparison between the test results with the values obtained from Hӧglund’s theory, BS8118 design method, and Cardiff theory performed theoretically. Finally, a new equation based on Cardiff tension-field theory proposed to predict theoretically the USR of aluminum plate girders.

Keywords: shear resistance, aluminum, Cardiff theory, Hӧglund's theory, plate girder

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Authors: Belkacem Ould Said, Nourddine Retiel, Abdelilah Benazza, Mohamed Aichouni

Abstract:

In this paper, a numerical study of two-dimensional steady flow has been made of natural convection in a differentially heated vertical conical partially annular space. The heat transfer is assumed to take place by natural convection. The inner and outer surfaces of annulus are maintained at uniform wall temperature. The annulus is filled with air. The CFD FLUENT12.0 code is used to solve the governing equations of mass, momentum and energy using constant properties and the Boussinesq approximation for density variation. The streamlines and the isotherms of the fluid are presented for different annuli with different boundary conditions and Rayleigh numbers. Emphasis is placed on the influences of the height of the inner vertical cone on the flow and the temperature fields. In addition, the effects on the heat transfer are discussed for various values of physical parameters of the fluid and geometric parameters of the annulus. The heat transfer on the hot walls of the annulus is also calculated in order to make comparisons between the cylinder annulus for boundary conditions and several Rayleigh numbers. A good agreement of Nusselt number has been found between the present predictions and reference from the literature data.

Keywords: natural convection, heat transfer, numerical simulation, conical partially, annular space

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Authors: Ahmed Zahran

Abstract:

Bifidobacterium breve ATCC 15700, Bifidobacterium adolescents ATCC 15704 and Bifidobacterium longum ATCC 15707 were tested for their growth, acid production, bile tolerance, antibiotic resistance and adherence to columnar epithelial cells of the small intestine of goat. The growth of all studied species was determined in the MRSL medium. B.longum 15707 was the most active species in comparison with the other two species; it was also more resistant to bile acids. The adhesion of the studied species to the columnar epithelial cells was studied. All the studied species showed some degree of adhesion; however, B.longum adhered more than the other two species. This species was resistant to four types of antibiotics and was sensitive to chloramphenicol 30 µg. The activity of Bifidobacterium species in soymilk was evaluated by measuring the development of titratalle acidity. B.longum 15707 was the most active species in terms of growth and activity of soymilk. So, soymilk containing bifidobacteria could be added to goat milk to produce acceptable functional soy yogurt, using the ratio of (1:4) soy milk to goat milk. This product could be of unique health benefits, especially in the case of high cholesterol levels and replenishment of intestinal flora after antibiotic therapy.

Keywords: bifidobacteria physiological properties, soy milk, goat milk, attachment epithelial cells, columnar tissues, probiotic food

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Authors: Boumesbah Asma, Chergui Mohamed El-amine

Abstract:

Since it has been shown that the multi-objective minimum spanning tree problem (MOST) is NP-hard even with two criteria, we propose in this study a hybrid NSGA-II algorithm with an exact mutation operator, which is only used with low probability, to find an approximation to the Pareto front of the problem. In a connected graph G, a spanning tree T of G being a connected and cycle-free graph, if k edges of G\T are added to T, we obtain a partial graph H of G inducing a reduced size multi-objective spanning tree problem compared to the initial one. With a weak probability for the mutation operator, an exact method for solving the reduced MOST problem considering the graph H is then used to give birth to several mutated solutions from a spanning tree T. Then, the selection operator of NSGA-II is activated to obtain the Pareto front approximation. Finally, an adaptation of the VNS metaheuristic is called for further improvements on this front. It allows finding good individuals to counterbalance the diversification and the intensification during the optimization search process. Experimental comparison studies with an exact method show promising results and indicate that the proposed algorithm is efficient.

Keywords: minimum spanning tree, multiple objective linear optimization, combinatorial optimization, non-sorting genetic algorithm, variable neighborhood search

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Authors: Sihem Benmimoune, Abdelbaki Lemgharbi, Ahmed Ait Yahia, Abdelkrim Kameli

Abstract:

Our study is based on chemical and phytochemical characterization of Artemisia absinthium L and in vitro tests to demonstrate the biological activities of essential oil and natural extract. A qualitative and quantitative comparison of the essential oil extracted by two extraction procedures was performed by analysis of CG/SM and the yield calculation. The method of hydrodistillation has a chemical composition and provides oil content than the best training water vapor. These oils are composed mainly of thujone followed chamazulene and ρ-cymene. The antimicrobial activity of wormwood oil was tested in vitro by two methods (agar diffusion and microdilution) on four plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus sp, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium culmorum and Helminthosporium sp). The study of the antifungal effect showed that this oil has an inhibitory effect counterpart the microorganisms tested in particular the strain Botrytis cinerea. Otherwise, this activity depends on the nature of the oil and the germ itself. The antioxidant activity in vitro was studied with the DPPH method. The activity test shows that the oil and extract of Artemisia absinthium have a very low antioxidant capacity compared to the antioxidants used as a reference. The extract has a potentially high antiradical power not from its oil. The quantitative determinations of phenolic compounds by the Folin-Ciocalteu revealed that absinthe is low in total polyphenols and tannins.

Keywords: artemisia absinthium, biological activities, essential oil, extraction processes

Procedia PDF Downloads 325