Search results for: Sherif D. El Wakil

Authors: Sherif D. El Wakil, John Rice

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The aim of the current work was to employ the finite element method to model a slab, with a small hole across its width, undergoing plastic plane strain deformation. The computational model had, however, to be validated by comparing its results with those obtained experimentally. Since they were in good agreement, the finite element method can therefore be considered a reliable tool that can help gain better understanding of the mechanism of ductile failure in structural members having stress raisers. The finite element software used was ANSYS, and the PLANE183 element was utilized. It is a higher order 2-D, 8-node or 6-node element with quadratic displacement behavior. A bilinear stress-strain relationship was used to define the material properties, with constants similar to those of the material used in the experimental study. The model was run for several tensile loads in order to observe the progression of the plastic deformation region, and the stress concentration factor was determined in each case. The experimental study involved employing the visioplasticity technique, where a circular mesh (each circle was 0.5 mm in diameter, with 0.05 mm line thickness) was initially printed on the side of an aluminum slab having a small hole across its width. Tensile loading was then applied to produce a small increment of plastic deformation. Circles in the plastic region became ellipses, where the directions of the principal strains and stresses coincided with the major and minor axes of the ellipses. Next, we were able to determine the directions of the maximum and minimum shear stresses at the center of each ellipse, and the slip-line field was then constructed. We were then able to determine the stress at any point in the plastic deformation zone, and hence the stress concentration factor. The experimental results were found to be in good agreement with the analytical ones.

Keywords: finite element method to model a slab, slab undergoing plastic deformation, stress distribution around a circular hole, visioplasticity

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Authors: Mervet A. El-sherif, Ginat M El-sherif, Kadry H Tolba

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The objective of this study was to determine, identify and investigate the effects of natural antioxidants of licorice and carob. Besides, their effects as powder and antioxidant extracts addition on refined sunflower oil stability as natural antioxidants were evaluated. Total polyphenol contents as total phenols, total carotenoids and total tannins were 353.93mg/100g (gallic acid), 10.62mg/100g (carotenoids) and 83.33mg/100g (tannic acid), respectively in licorice, while in carob, it was 186.07, 18.66 and 106.67, respectively. Polyphenol compounds of the studied licorice and carob extracts were determined and identified by HPLC. The stability of refined sunflower oil (which determined by peroxide value and Rancimat) was increased with increasing the level of polyphenols extracts addition. Also, our study shows the effect of addition of these polyphenols extracts to El-mewled El-nabawy sweets fortified by full cream milk powder (sesames and folia). We found that, licorice and carob as powder and polyphenols extracts were delayed the rancidity of sesame and peanut significantly. That encourages using licorice and carob as powder and polyphenols extracts as a good natural antioxidants source instead of synthetic antioxidants.

Keywords: licorice, carob, natural antioxidants, antioxidant activity, applications

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Authors: Salma M. Wakil

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Advances in the field of genetics overwhelmed detecting large number of inherited disorders at the molecular level and directed to the development of innovative technologies. These innovations have led to gene sequencing, prenatal mutation detection, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis; population based carrier screening and genome wide analyses using microarrays. Microarrays are widely used in establishing clinical and diagnostic setup for genetic anomalies at a massive level, with the advent of cytoscan molecular karyotyping as a clinical utility card for detecting chromosomal aberrations with high coverage across the entire human genome. Unlike a regular karyotype that relies on the microscopic inspection of chromosomes, molecular karyotyping with cytoscan constructs virtual chromosomes based on the copy number analysis of DNA which improves its resolution by 100-fold. We have been investigating a large number of patients with Developmental Delay and Intellectual disability with this platform for establishing micro syndrome deletions and have detected number of novel CNV’s in the Arabian population with the clinical relevance.

Keywords: microarrays, molecular karyotyping, developmental delay, genetics

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Authors: Bashayer AlRobayaan, Munira Saad, Alaa AlBawab, Fatma AlHamad, Sara AlAwadhi, Sherif Fahmy

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This paper addresses the problem of long waiting times in government hospitals emergency departments (ED). It aims at finding feasible and simple ways of reducing waiting times that do not require a lot of resources and/or expenses. AlAdan Hospital in Kuwait was chosen to be understudy to further understand and capture the problem.

Keywords: healthcare, hospital, Kuwait, waiting times, emergency department

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Authors: Sherif O. Zain Elabideen, Ahmed A. Helal, Ibrahim F. El-Arabawy

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Due to the drastic increase of the wind turbines installed capacity; the grid codes are increasing the restrictions aiming to treat the wind turbines like other conventional sources sooner. In this paper, an intensive review has been presented for different techniques used to add low voltage ride through capability to Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) wind turbine. A system model with 1.5 MW DFIG wind turbine is constructed and simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK to explore the effectiveness of the reviewed techniques.

Keywords: DFIG, grid side converters, low voltage ride through, wind turbine

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Authors: Ibrahim M. Labouta, Marwa H. El-Wakil, Hayam M. Ashour, Ahmed M. Hassan, Manal N. Saudi

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The receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met is an attractive target for therapeutic treatment of cancers nowadays. Among the wide variety of heterocycles that have been explored for developing c-Met kinase inhibitors, the 1,2,4-triazines have been rarely investigated, although they are well known in the literature to possess antitumor activities. Herein we describe the design and synthesis of a novel series of 1,2,4-triazine derivatives possessing N-acylarylhydrazone moiety and another series combining the 1,2,4-triazine scaffold to the well-known anticancer drug 6-MP in order to explore their “double-drug” effect. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity against three c-Met addicted cancer cell lines (A549, HT-29 and MKN-45). Most compounds showed moderate to excellent antiproliferative activity and four compounds showed potent inhibitory activity more than the reference drug Foretinib against one or more cancer cell lines. The obtained results revealed that the potent compounds are highly selective to A549 (lung adenocarcinoma) cancer cell line. The c-Met kinase inhibitory activity of the potent derivatives is still under investigation. The present study clearly demonstrates that the 1,2,4-triazine core ring exhibits promising antitumor activity with potential c-Met kinase inhibitory activity.

Keywords: 1, 2, 4-triazine, antitumor, c-Met inhibitor, double-drug

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Authors: Sherif M. A. S. Keshk, Hisham S. M. Abd-Rabboh, Mohamed S. Hamdy, Ibrahim H. A. Badr

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Microwave radiation was applied to synthesize nanoparticles of nickel oxide supported on pretreated cellulose with metal acetate in the presence of NaOH. Optimization, in terms of irradiation time and metal concentration, was investigated. FT-IR spectrum of cellulose/NiO spectrum shows a band at 445 cm^-1 that is related to the Ni–O stretching vibration of NiO6 octahedral in the cubic NiO structure. cellulose/NiO showed similar XRD pattern of cellulose I and exhibited sharpened reflection peak at 2q = 29.8°, corresponding to (111) plane of NiO, with two weak broad peaks at 48.5°, and 49.2°, representing (222) planes of NiO. XPS spectrum of mercerized cellulose/NiO composite showed did not show any peaks corresponding to Na ion.

Keywords: cellulose, mercerized cellulose, cellulose/zinc and nickeloxides composite, FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM, Raman spectrum

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Authors: S. D. El Wakil

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The research work reported here was aimed at investigating the feasibility of joining high-porosity stainless steel discs and wrought iron bars by friction welding. The sound friction-welded joints were then subjected to a metallurgical investigation and an analysis of failure resulting from tensile loading. Discs having 50 mm diameter and 10 mm thickness were produced by loose sintering of stainless steel powder at a temperature of 1350 ^oC in an argon atmosphere for one hour. Minor machining was then carried out to control the dimensions of the discs, and the density of each disc could then be determined. The level of porosity was calculated and was found to be about 40% in all of those discs. Solid wrought iron bars were also machined to facilitate tensile testing of the joints produced by friction welding. Using our previously gained experience, the porous stainless steel disc and the wrought iron tube were successfully friction welded. SEM was employed to examine the fracture surface after a tensile test of the joint in order to determine the type of failure. It revealed that the failure did not occur in the joint, but rather in the in the porous metal in the area adjacent to the joint. The load carrying capacity was actually determined by the strength of the porous metal and not by that of the welded joint. Macroscopic and microscopic metallographic examinations were also performed and showed that the welded joint involved a dense heat-affected zone where the porous metal underwent densification at elevated temperature, explaining and supporting the findings of the SEM study.

Keywords: fracture of friction-welded joints, metallurgy of friction welding, solid-porous structures, strength of joints

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Authors: Sherif K. El Dyasti, Esam A. Hagras, Adel E. El-Hennawy

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This paper addresses the performance of antenna array beam-forming on Chip-Interleaved Code Division Multiple Access (CI_CDMA) system based on Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) detector in aeronautical mobile radio channel. Multipath fading, Doppler shifts caused by the speed of the aircraft, and Multiple Access Interference (MAI) are the most important reasons that affect and reduce the performance of aeronautical system. In this paper, we suggested the CI-CDMA with antenna array to combat this fading and improve the bit error rate (BER) performance. We further evaluate the performance of the proposed system in the four standard scenarios in aeronautical mobile radio channel.

Keywords: aeronautical channel, CI-CDMA, beamforming, communication, information

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Authors: Abdelrahman A. Ramzy, Bassel S. Abdallah, Mohamed E. Bahgat, Sarah M. Abdelkader, Sherif H. ElGohary

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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, and autism affect millions of children worldwide, many of which are undiagnosed despite the fact that all of these disorders are detectable in early childhood. Late diagnosis can cause severe problems due to the late treatment and to the misconceptions and lack of awareness as a whole towards these disorders. Moreover, electroencephalography (EEG) has played a vital role in the assessment of neural function in children. Therefore, quantitative EEG measurement will be utilized as a tool for use in the evaluation of patients who may have ADHD, epilepsy, and autism. We propose a screening tool that uses EEG signals and machine learning algorithms to detect these disorders at an early age in an automated manner. The proposed classifiers used with epilepsy as a step taken for the work done so far, provided an accuracy of approximately 97% using SVM, Naïve Bayes and Decision tree, while 98% using KNN, which gives hope for the work yet to be conducted.

Keywords: ADHD, autism, epilepsy, EEG, SVM

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Authors: Amany ElShazly, Lubna A. Sherif

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The entanglement of humans with the environment has always been inevitable and often causes destruction. In this respect, ‘Ecolinguistics’ helps humans to understand the link between languages and the environment. Stibbe (2014a) has indicated that ‘linguistics’, particularly, Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), provides an interpretation of language which shapes world views, while the ‘eco’ side maintains the life-sustaining interactions of humans and the physical environment. This paper considers two key ecological instances, namely: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as a focal point of political dispute and THE LINE project as well as Etthadar lel Akhdar (Go Green Initiative) as two examples of combating ecological degradation. ‘Ecosophy’ as explained by Naess (1996) is used to describe the ecolinguistic framework, which assesses discourse where the linguistic lens focuses on the use of metaphor, and ‘Positive Discourse’ framework, which resonates with respect and care for the natural world.

Keywords: ecosophy, critical discourse studies, metaphor, positive discourse, social semiotics, ecolinguistics

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Authors: Sherif Ismail

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Degradation of phenol-contaminated wastewater using Photocatalytic oxidation process was investigated in batch experiments using Fe doped TiO₂. Moreover, the effect of oxygen aeration on the performance of photocatalytic oxidation process by iron (Fe⁺²) doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was assessed. Photocatalytic oxidation using Fe doped TiO₂ effectively reduce the phenol concentration in wastewater with optimum condition of light intensity, pH, catalyst-dosing and initial concentration of phenol were 50 W/m2, 5.3, 600 mg/l and 10 mg/l respectively. The results obtained that removal efficiency of phenol was 88% after 180 min in case of N₂ addition. However, aeration by oxygen resulted in a 99% removal efficiency in 120 min. The results of photo-catalysis oxidation experiments fitted the pseudo-first-order kinetic equation with high correlation. Costs estimation of 30 m3/d full-scale photo-catalysis oxidation plant was assessed.

Keywords: phenol degradation, Fe-doped TiO2, AOPs, cost analysis

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Authors: S. D. El Wakil, M. Pladsen

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Fiber reinforced polymeric (FRP) composites are finding wide-spread industrial applications because of their exceptionally high specific strength and specific modulus of elasticity. Nevertheless, it is very seldom to get ready-for-use components or products made of FRP composites. Secondary processing by machining, particularly drilling, is almost always required to make holes for fastening components together to produce assemblies. That creates problems since the FRP composites are neither homogeneous nor isotropic. Some of the problems that are encountered include the subsequent damage in the region around the drilled hole and the drilling – induced delamination of the layer of ply, that occurs both at the entrance and the exit planes of the work piece. Evidently, the functionality of the work piece would be detrimentally affected. The current work was carried out with the aim of eliminating or at least minimizing the work piece damage associated with drilling of FPR composites. Each test specimen involves a woven reinforced graphite fiber/epoxy composite having a thickness of 12.5 mm (0.5 inch). A large number of test specimens were subjected to drilling operations with different combinations of feed rates and cutting speeds. The drilling induced damage was taken as the absolute value of the difference between the drilled hole diameter and the nominal one taken as a percentage of the nominal diameter. The later was determined for each combination of feed rate and cutting speed, and a matrix comprising those values was established, where the columns indicate varying feed rate while and rows indicate varying cutting speeds. Next, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) approach was employed using Minitab software, in order to obtain the combination that would improve the drilling induced damage. Experimental results show that low feed rates coupled with low cutting speeds yielded the best results.

Keywords: drilling of composites, dimensional accuracy of holes drilled in composites, delamination and charring, graphite-epoxy composites

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Authors: Mathias Aakyiir, Qunhui Zheng, Sherif Araby, Jun Ma

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MXene nanosheets stack in polymer matrices, while multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) entangle themselves when used to form composites. These challenges are addressed in this work by forming MXene/MWCNT hybrid nanofillers by electrostatic self-assembly and developing elastomer/MXene/MWCNTs nanocomposites using a latex compounding method. In a 3-phase nanocomposite, MWCNTs serve as bridges between MXene nanosheets, leading to nanocomposites with well-dispersed nanofillers. The high aspect ratio of MWCNTs and the interconnection role of MXene serve as a basis for forming nanocomposites of lower percolation threshold of electrical conductivity from the hybrid fillers compared with the 2-phase composites containing either MXene or MWCNTs only. This study focuses on discussing into detail the interfacial interaction of nanofillers and the elastomer matrix and the outstanding mechanical and functional properties of the resulting nanocomposites. The developed nanocomposites have potential applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Keywords: elastomers, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, MXenes, nanocomposites

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Authors: Othman S. Alsheraida, Sherif El-Gamal

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) is a composite material with exceptional properties that are capable of replacing conventional steel reinforcement in reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures. However, the main obstacle for their wide use in the pre-stressed concrete application is the anchorage system. Due to the weakness of FRP in the transverse direction, the pre-stressing capacity of FRP bars is limited. This paper investigates the modification of the conventional wedge anchorage system to be used for stressing of FRP bars in pre-stressed applications. Epoxy adhesive material with glass FRP (GFRP) bars and conventional steel wedge were used in this paper. The GFRP bars are encased with epoxy at the anchor zone and the wedge system was used in the pull-out test. The results showed a loading capacity of 47.6 kN which is 69% of the bar ultimate capacity. Additionally, nylon wedge was made with the same dimensions of the steel wedge and tested for GFRP bars without epoxy layer. The nylon wedge showed a loading capacity of 19.7 kN which is only 28.5% of the ultimate bar capacity.

Keywords: anchorage, concrete, epoxy, frp, pre-stressed

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Authors: A. Sherif, A. El Zafarany, R. Arafa

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Hospitals, everywhere, are considered heavy energy consumers. Hospital Intensive Care Unit spaces pose a special challenge, where design guidelines requires the provision of external windows for day-lighting and external view. Window protection strategies could be employed to reduce energy loads without detriment effect on comfort or health care. This paper addresses the effectiveness of using various window strategies on the annual cooling, heating and lighting energy use of a typical Hospital Intensive Unit space. Series of experiments were performed using the EnergyPlus simulation software for a typical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) space in Cairo, located in the Egyptian desert. This study concluded that the use of shading systems is more effective in conserving energy in comparison with glazing of different types, in the Cairo ICUs. The highest energy savings in the West and South orientations were accomplished by external perforated solar screens, followed by overhangs positioned at a protection angle of 45°.

Keywords: energy, hospital, intensive care units, shading

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Authors: Zakaria Ahmed, Khaled Charradi, Sherif M. A. S. Keshk, Radhouane Chtourou

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Sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) with a low sulfonation degree was blended using nanofiller Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH, Mg2AlCl) /sepiolite nanostructured material as additive to use as an electrolyte membrane for fuel cell application. Characterization assessments, i.e., mechanical stability, thermal gravimetric analysis, ion exchange capability, swelling properties, water uptake capacities, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the composite membranes were conducted. The presence of LDH/sepiolite nanoarchitecture material within SPEEK was found to have the highest water retention and proton conductivity value at high temperature rather than LDH/SPEEK and pristine SPEEK membranes.

Keywords: SPEEK, sepiolite clay, LDH clay, proton exchange membrane

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Authors: Ahmed A. Khamis, Sherif A. Ibrahim, Mahmoud El Khatieb, Mohamed A. Barakat

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Parametric design is an icon of the modern architectural that facilitate taking complex design decisions counting on altering various design parameters. Double skin facades are one of the parametric applications for using parametric designs. This paper opts to enhance different daylight parameters of a selected case study office building in Cairo using parametric double skin facade. First, the design and optimization process executed utilizing Grasshopper parametric design software which is a plugin in rhino. The daylighting performance of the base case building model was compared with the one used the double façade showing an enhancement in daylighting performance indicators like glare and task illuminance in the modified model, execution drawings are made for the optimized design to be executed through Revit, followed by computerized digital fabrication stages of the designed model with various scales to reach the final design decisions using Simplify 3D for mock-up digital fabrication

Keywords: parametric design, double skin facades, digital fabrication, grasshopper, simplify 3D

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Authors: Sherif M. Hafez, Remon F. Aziz, May S. A. Elalim

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Project managers today rely on scheduling tools based on the Critical Path Method (CPM) to determine the overall project duration and the activities’ float times which lead to greater efficiency in planning and control of projects. CPM was useful for scheduling construction projects, but researchers had highlighted a number of serious drawbacks that limit its use as a decision support tool and lacks the ability to clearly record and represent detailed information. This paper discusses the drawbacks of CPM as a scheduling technique and presents a modified critical path method (CPM) model which is called critical path segments (CPS). The CPS scheduling mechanism addresses the problems of CPM in three ways: decomposing the activity duration of separated but connected time segments; all relationships among activities are converted into finish–to–start relationship; and analysis and calculations are made with forward path. Sample cases are included to illustrate the shortages in CPM, CPS full analysis and calculations are explained in details, and how schedules can be handled better with the CPS technique.

Keywords: construction management, scheduling, critical path method, critical path segments, forward pass, float, project control

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Authors: Najat El-Kurdi, Sherif Hammad, Mohamed Ghazi, Sahar El-Shatoury, Khaled Zakaria

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The increasing number of plastic production and its importance to humanity in daily life made it a headache to the planet earth. The persistence of plastic wastes in the environment formed a serious problem. They are prominent with their capability to resist microbial degradation for decades. Thus, it was crucial to find ways to eliminate the plastics without depending on conventional recycling methods, which causes the formation of more hazardous compounds and doubles the problem. In this paper, mealworms were fed with a mixture of plastic wastes such as plastic bags, Styrofoam, PE foam, and plastic tarpaulins film as the sole food source for a month. Frass was collected at the end of the test and examined using FTIR analysis. Also, the gut bacteria were isolated and identified using 16S rRNA. The results show the mineralization of plastic in the frass of plastic-fed worms when compared to control. The 16S rRNA and the BLAST analysis showed that the obtained isolate belongs to the genus Bacillus Sp especially Bacillus subtilis. Phylogenetic analysis showed their relatedness to the other Bacillus species in the NCBI database.

Keywords: mealworm, waste management, plastic-degrading bacteria, gut microbiome, Bacillus sp

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Authors: Shaibu Ali, Sherif Heiman Shaban, Musah Ismaila, Imoro Alhassan, Yusif Ali

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Purpose: Islamic banking and finance is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the global finance industry. Starting with the Dubai Islamic Bank in 1975, the number of Islamic financial institutions worldwide has shot up astronomically, to over three hundred, with operations in seventy-five countries and assets in excess of US$400 billion. The purpose of this study is to explore the prospects and challenges of Islamic banking introduction in a non-Islamic country like Ghana. Design/Methodology: Data for the study was collected via an expert opinion of three Islamic scholars on Islamic banking from Ghana. Findings: Findings from this study indicates some of the benefits of Islamic banking includes connecting financial markets and economic activity, promoting the principle of financial justice, greater stability, avoiding economic bubbles (and bursts) and reducing the impact of harmful products and practices. The study also identified lack of experts in various fields of Islamic banking, product innovation, moral hazard, and need for experienced staff in Islamic banking as some of the challenges to Islamic banking system’s introduction. Contribution: The study contributes to literature on Islamic banking from a non-Islamic country like Ghana.

Keywords: Islamic banking, Shari’ah, Riba, conventional banking

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Authors: Khaja Moiduddin, Sherif Mohammed Elseufy, Hisham Alkhalefah

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Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing, medical imaging, and implant design may alter how craniomaxillofacial surgeons construct individualized treatments using patient data. By utilizing medical image data, medical professionals can obtain detailed information about a patient's injuries, enabling them to conduct a thorough preoperative assessment while ensuring the implant's accuracy. However, selecting the right implant material requires careful consideration of various mechanical properties. This study aims to compare the two commonly used implant material for cranial reconstruction which includes titanium (Ti6Al4V) and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Biomechanical analysis was performed to study the implant behavior, by keeping the implant design and fixation constant in both cases. A finite element model was created and analyzed under loading conditions. The finite element analysis proves that although Ti6Al4V is stronger than PEEK but, its mechanical strength is adequate to bear the loads of the adjacent bone tissue.

Keywords: cranial reconstruction, titanium implants, PEEK, finite element model

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Authors: Khojesta Kawish, Tetsuya Ando, Sayed Abdul Basir Samimi

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Bagh-e Dasht area is situated in the northern part of Herat, an old city in western Afghanistan located on the Silk Road which has received a strong influence from Persian culture. Initially, the Bagh-e Dasht area was developed for gardens and palaces near Joy-e Injil canal during the Timurid Empire in the 15^th century. It is assumed Bagh-e Dasht became a settlement in the 16^th century during the Safavid Empire. The oldest area is the southern part around the canal bank which is characterized by Dalans, sun-dried brick arcades above which houses are often constructed. Traditional houses in this area are built with domical vault roofs constructed with sun-dried bricks. Bagh-e Dasht is one of the best-preserved settlements of traditional houses in Herat. This study examines the transformation of the Bagh-e Dasht area with a focus on Dalans, where traditional houses with domical vault roofs have been well-preserved until today. The aim of the study is to examine the extent of physical changes to the area as well as changes to houses and the community. This research paper contains original results which have previously not been published in architectural history. The roof types of houses in the area are investigated through examining high resolution satellite images. The boundary of each building and space is determined by both a field survey and aerial photographs of the study area. A comprehensive field survey was then conducted to examine each space and building in the area. In addition, a questionnaire was distributed to the residents of the Dalan houses and interviews were conducted with the Wakil (Chief) of the area, a local historian, residents and traditional builders. The study finds that the oldest part of Bagh-e Dasht area, the south, contains both Dalans and domical vault roof houses. The next oldest part, which is the north, only has domical vault roof houses. The rest of the area only has houses with modernized flat roofs. This observation provides an insight into the process of historical development in the Bagh-e Dasht area.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Bagh-e Dasht, Dalan, domical vault, Herat, over path house, traditional house

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Authors: Benjamin Bae, Mahdy Elhusseiny, Sherif El-Halaby

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This study investigates the relationship between some cultural factors and the level of dividend payouts of banks in a number of Muslim countries. We examine whether cultural factors play any role in determining dividend payout policy in banks. The results suggest that banks in high masculinity countries tend to pay higher dividends than low masculinity countries. The results also show that banks in high uncertainty avoidance (UA) countries tend to pay lower dividends than high UA countries. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that banks in high long-term orientation (LTO) countries tend to pay lower dividends than low LTO countries. However, two other cultural factors of power distance (PD) and individualism do not have any incremental explanatory power on the dividend payouts. Overall, this research adds to our understanding of the bank’s dividend payout policies. First, evidence on the relationship between the cultural factors and bank’s level of dividend payouts should be useful to investors. Second, the findings of this study provide financial statement users with useful information about the bank’s dividend payout levels. Third, in general, it also adds to the accounting and finance literature on dividends.

Keywords: cultural factor, dividend payout, Hofstede index, bank industry

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Authors: Mohamed K. Metwally, Sherif H. El-Gohary, Kyung Min Byun, Seung Moo Han, Soo Yeol Lee, Min Hyoung Cho, Gon Khang, Jinsung Cho, Tae-Seong Kim

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Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality that combines the absorption contrast of light with ultrasound resolution. Laser is used to deposit optical energy into a target (i.e., optical fluence). Consequently, the target temperature rises, and then thermal expansion occurs that leads to generating a PA signal. In general, most image reconstruction algorithms for PAI assume uniform fluence within an imaging object. However, it is known that optical fluence distribution within the object is non-uniform. This could affect the reconstruction of PA images. In this study, we have investigated the influence of optical fluence distribution on PA back-propagation imaging using finite element method. The uniform fluence was simulated as a triangular waveform within the object of interest. The non-uniform fluence distribution was estimated by solving light propagation within a tissue model via Monte Carlo method. The results show that the PA signal in the case of non-uniform fluence is wider than the uniform case by 23%. The frequency spectrum of the PA signal due to the non-uniform fluence has missed some high frequency components in comparison to the uniform case. Consequently, the reconstructed image with the non-uniform fluence exhibits a strong smoothing effect.

Keywords: finite element method, fluence distribution, Monte Carlo method, photoacoustic imaging

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Authors: Sherif Refaat, Hassan Aref

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Background: Although asthma is a well-identified presentation to the emergency department, little is known about the frequency and percentage of respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms in patients with acute asthma in the emergency department (ED). Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between acute asthma exacerbation and different respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms including chest pain encountered by patients visiting the emergency department. Subjects and methods: Prospective study included 169 (97 females and 72 males) asthmatic patients who were admitted to emergency department of two tertiary care facility hospitals for asthma exacerbation from the period of September 2010 to August 2013, an anonyms questionnaire was used to collect symptoms and analysis of symptoms. Results: Females were 97 (57%) of the patients, mean age was 35.6 years; dyspnea on exertion was the commonest symptom accounting for 161 (95.2%) of patients, followed by dyspnea at rest 155 (91.7%), wheezing in 152 (89.9%), chest pain was present in 82 patients (48.5%), the pain was burning in 36 (43.9%) of the total patients with chest pain. Non-respiratory symptoms were seen frequently in acute asthma in ED. Conclusions: Dyspnea was the commonest chest symptoms encountered in patients with acute asthma followed by wheezing. Chest pain in acute asthma is a common symptom and should be fully studied to exclude misdiagnosis as of cardiac origin; there is a need for a better dissemination of knowledge about this disease association with chest pain. It was also noted that other non-respiratory symptoms are frequently encountered with acute asthma in emergency department.

Keywords: asthma, emergency department, respiratory symptoms, non respiratory system

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Authors: Sarah M. Oteifa, Lobna A. Sherif, Yasser M. Mostafa

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Visually impaired people, in their daily lives, face struggles and spatial barriers because the built environment is often designed with an extreme focus on the visual element, causing what is called architectural visual bias or ocularcentrism. The aim of the study is to holistically understand the world of the visually impaired as an attempt to extract the qualities of space that accommodate their needs, and to show the importance of multi-sensory, holistic designs for the blind. Within the framework of existential phenomenology, common themes are reached through "intersubjectivity": experience descriptions by blind people and blind architects, observation of how blind children learn to perceive their surrounding environment, and a personal lived blind-folded experience are analyzed. The extracted themes show how visually impaired people filter out and prioritize tactile (active, passive and dynamic touch), acoustic and olfactory spatial qualities respectively, and how this happened during the personal lived blind folded experience. The themes clarify that haptic and aural inclusive designs are essential to create environments suitable for the visually impaired to empower them towards an independent, safe and efficient life.

Keywords: architecture, architectural ocularcentrism, multi-sensory design, visually impaired

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Authors: Haidy N. Salem, Nada O. Kamel, Shahinaz N. Hassan, Sherif M. Elhefnawy

Abstract:

Aim: to assess the effect of using turmeric powder extract on changes of tooth color with extra-coronal and intra-coronal bleaching methods. Methods: Turmeric powder extract was weighted and mixed with two different hydrogen peroxide concentrations (3% and 6%) to be used as a bleaching agent. Thirty teeth were allocated into three groups (n=10): Group A: Bleaching agent (6%) was applied on the labial surface, Group B: Bleaching agent (3%) was applied inside the pulp chamber and Group C: Extra and intra-coronal bleaching techniques were used (6% and 3% respectively). A standardized access cavity was opened in the palatal surface of each tooth in both Groups B and C. Color parameters were measured using a spectrophotometer. Results: A statistically significant difference in color difference values (∆E*) and enamel brightness (∆L*) was found between Group C and each of Groups A and B. There was no statistically significant difference in (∆E*) and (∆L*) between Group A and Group B. The highest mean value of (∆E*) and (∆L*) was found in Group C, while the least mean value was found in Group B. Conclusion: Bleaching the external and internal tooth structure with low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide solution mixed with turmeric extract has a promising effect in color enhancement.

Keywords: bleaching, hydrogen peroxide, spectrophotometer, turmeric

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Rania Sherif Abd El-Azim

Abstract:

The role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business has evolved and led to an era where industry leaders can no longer overlook the importance of being participative corporate citizens. This is not only because of the media’s skeptical attitude toward whether or not companies’ CSR efforts are sincere but also due to key stakeholders’ ability to hold companies to a higher standard than ever before as companies can gain competitive advantage through CSR. These programs result in addressing global challenges, such as climate, and poverty, or simply improving employee retention, so it has become increasingly clear that CSR is not just the new trend for companies but a necessary tool that organizations must integrate into their overall business strategies to build a stronger reputation as well as to also increase credibility among their key audience and enhance customers’ willingness to repurchase, pay premium price and enhancing positive word of mouth. According to the literature review, the link between CSR and competitive advantage at the firm level has long been an important topic for both CSR researchers and practitioners. Thus CSR can play an important role in enhancing the firm's competitive advantage, which seems an attractive area to investigate specially in Egypt. So, this paper will investigate the role of corporate social responsibility in enhancing the firm competitive advantage.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, competitive advantage, corporate reputation, customers' willingness to repurchase, willingness to pay premium price, positive word of mouth

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Asiful Hossain Seikh, Mohammad Asif Alam, Ubair Abdus Samad, Jabair A. Mohammed, S. M. Al-Zahrani, El-Sayed M. Sherif

Abstract:

In this current investigation, aliphatic amine-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) based epoxy coating was mixed with certain weight % hardener polyaminoamide (1:2) and was coated on carbon steel panels with and without 1% nano crystalline Al powder. The corrosion behavior of the coated samples were investigated by exposing them in the salt spray chamber, for 500 hours. According to ASTM-B-117, the bath was kept at 35 °C and 5% NaCl containing mist was sprayed at 1.3 bars pressure. Composition of coatings was confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Electrochemical characterization of the coated samples was also performed using potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. All the experiments were done in 3.5% NaCl solution. The nano Al coated sample shows good corrosion resistance property compared to bare Al sample. In fact after salt spray exposure no pitting or local damage was observed for nano coated sample and the coating gloss was negligibly affected. The surface morphology of coated and corroded samples was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Keywords: epoxy, nano aluminium, potentiodynamic polarization, salt spray, electrochemical impedence spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 122