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IMPACT OF COVID-19 CONFINEMENT ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND DIETARY HABITS IN PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS IN LEBANON: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Get PDFCOVID-19 pandemic caused radical changes to the daily living activities of Lebanese population since it led the government to adopt restrictive measures and force obligatory confinement. This study aimed to identify the dietary, using Prevention with Mediterranean Diet (PREDIMED), and physical activity, using International Physical Activity Questionnaire- short form (IPAQ-SF), among physical therapy students and professionals residing in Lebanon before and during the COVID-19 confinement period. A cross-sectional descriptive study based on self-administered questionnaires was carried out from late January to the beginning of February, which coincides with the third home confinement period. Surveys were disseminated through multiple social media platforms for physical therapy students and professionals. According to PREDIMED, the adherence to Mediterranean diet increased to 44.1% during confinement versus 40.2% before confinement (
EXPLORING THE QUALITIES OF CHILD-FRIENDLY OUTDOOR SPACES: A FIELD STUDY IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBOURHOODS - CASE STUDY: SABRA, BEIRUT, LEBANON
Get PDFChildren’s play areas are from the past an indispensable right for children, in which it allows children to build their physical environment and assess it cognitive thinking. But today, the city, especially in low-income population suffers from a clear shortage of open spaces, where the leftover spaces are left empty used for garbage, old tanks car parts, and many other bad issues. This has negatively affected society, mainly children, where they become vulnerable to many social ills and problems that threaten their lives and behaviour. This paper tries to ameliorate and presents adequate children’s play areas, for the low-income population, through an analytical example, suffering from a lack of playing spaces between residential buildings, and show us how responsible and associations find a clear and appropriate solution for their society. For that reason, the paper focuses on principles of how to present safe playing areas and to be accessible by all children without inequality between boys and girls, and it also presents a case study that analyses the current situation presented in this region, in order to solve it. Moreover, the paper declares that the low-income population living in the high-density urban fabric, can manage and form suitable public and kid’s gatherings, or may take advantage of good use of existing public open areas, where these can improve social relations and develop children’s physical environment. In order to survey the current situation of the case study, Sabra, the paper follows a field methodology using a questionnaire. This methodology shows the complications of low-income Sabra inhabitants and children and concluded with guidelines to ameliorate and enhance the quality of life and upgrade adequate outdoor spaces for play
AN IMPROVEMENT OF CROSS ENTROPY THRESHOLDING FOR SKIN CANCER
Get PDFImage processing procedures in medical diagnosis are used to improve diagnosis accuracy. An example of this is skin cancer detection using the thresholding approach. Thus, research studies involved in identification of inherited mutations predisposing family members to malignant melanoma have been performed in the Cancer Genetics field. Melanoma is one of the deadliest cancers, but could be cured when diagnosed early. A fundamental step in image processing is segmentation that includes thresholding, among others. Thresholding is based on finding the optimal thresholds value that partitions the image into multiple classes to be able to distinguish the objects from the background. The algorithm developed in this work is based on Minimum Cross Entropy Thresholding (MCET) method, using statistical distributions. We improved the previous work of Pal by using separately different statistical distributions (Gaussian, Lognormal and Gamma) instead of Poisson distribution. We applied our improved methods on bimodal skin cancer images and obtained promising experimental results. The resulting segmented skin cancer images, using Gamma distribution yielded better estimation of the optimal threshold than does the same MCET method with Lognormal, Gaussian and Poisson distribution
A NOVEL PROBABILISTIC FRAMEWORK OF RC CORRODED STRUCTURES UNDER DYNAMIC LOADING
Get PDFSteel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures can lead to severe deterioration damage under static and seismic loads. In practice, it is essential to mitigate failure risk by quantifying the extent of damage and simulating the structural response of damaged structures. However, numerical modeling of the dynamic behavior of corroded structure is challenging due to high nonlinearity of the problem and its multidisciplinary nature. In addition, corrosion damage exhibits various sources of uncertainty that impede accurate deterministic modeling of the dynamic response of RC structures. Therefore, this study presents a simplified framework, to simulate the non-linear response of corroded structures under seismic excitation, in a statistical setting. The presented scheme employs set of state-of-art experiments and numerical investigations of corrosion effect and response to capture the generic non-linear response. The presented scheme is utilized to conduct reliability analysis for corroded structures under earthquake loads by incorporating different sources of uncertainties associated with the used mathematical models and model parameters. The power of the suggested probabilistic scheme is illustrated on two simulated structures, where two different statistical properties are considered; the initial statistical parameters and a real-time monitored statistic for the rate of corrosion
OBLIGATIONS OF THE ALIAS AGENT IN THE AGENCY OF HARNESS (A COMPARATIVE STUDY)
Get PDFAgent in terms of their difference from the obligations of the ordinary agent as the general rule, whether in terms of new obligations borne by the alias agent, which does not exist in the exposed agency, or in terms of defining the role of nature under a pseudonym from a pseudonym agency, which contributes to a different provision proposed for the pseudonym agent\u27s obligations than the obligations of an ordinary agent in a pseudonym agency. The study is taken from the preponderant jurisprudential opinion as the focus of the methodological scientific discussion regarding the obligations of the borrowed agent and the saying “The borrowed agent’s obligations are subject to the same provisions resulting from the obligations of the ordinary agent,” and under pain of the study’s attempt to prove the opposite of the advanced opinion, it started from the following problematic:What are the obligations of the alias agent towards the client and towards others in light of the legislative absence in the Iraqi Civil Code and the Lebanese Law of Obligations and Contracts, especially since both laws were limited to dedicating the alias agency without addressing the obligations of the alias agent with texts independent of the obligations of the ordinary agent in the open agency?From the aforementioned problem, a number of the following questions emerged:Are the obligations of the borrowed agent the same as the obligations of the regular agent, or does the borrowed nature affect the imposition of new obligations on the pseudonym? Does the borrowed nature of the pseudonym agency have the effect of mitigating or aggravating the liability of the pseudonym towards the principal and others?The study is taken from the comparative approach by comparing the Iraqi civil law with the Lebanese law of obligations and approach by and the analytical approach by examining the alias nature to reach the open nature of the agency and its impact on the judgment of the alias agent’s obligations, in two chapters: the obligations of the alias agent towards the principal (Chapter One) and the obligations of the alias agent the borrowed agent towards others (Chapter Two)
THE MORAL DAMAGE AND THE JURISTIC PERSON IN LIGHT OF THE TWO DECISIONS OF THE CASSATION COURT (COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIVISION) ISSUED ON 10/03/2020 AND 9/6/2020
Get PDFThis article is a completion of the previous article that included a critical analysis of the decision of the Cassation court, Civil and Commercial Division issued on 22/1/208 whereby the Court decided the impossibility to recognize a moral damage for a juristic person and deny his right of compensation. Nonetheless, the recent decisions of the Cassation Court, Commercial and economic Division came with an opposite jurisprudence and confirmed what was developed in our previous study concerning the possibility to award compensation for moral damages suffered by the juristic person and considered it as necessity on the legal, the economic and the social levels. This decision emphasizes the conclusion we made in our previous article, which incited to harmonize the Court decisions among different divisions of the Cassation Court and adopt the recent jurisprudence of the Commercial and Economic division since it conforms with the text of the Civil law and was adopted by the comparative doctrine and judicial authorities
POTENTIALS OF CONTAINERS IN CREATING MODULAR ARCHITECTURAL SPACES
Get PDFContainers are currently considered as one of the inventive trends of framing architectural objects. Container architecture is defined as the type of architecture that is characterised by the usage of steel containers as a structural elements and architectural envelope that can be presented as a part of architecture or a function that an activity can happen in it. Due to the specific dimensions that the container has, architects tend to use it to obtain modularity in their projects and the modular design strategies refer to using the containers as a standard unit to carry out the process, these containers are not only considered as a modular unit in design basis, but it is also used because of its structural strength, cheap cost, fast construction, its variety to change the function inside and its durability. Unfortunately, people are not aware of the importance of this type of material that can be used to obtain sustainability and reduce pollution and recycle the materials. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the container architecture by identifying different ways of creating architecture spaces that hosts different functions and activities not only in micro view but also in macro which means in large scale. In order to achieve the mentioned aim, the paper will start by presenting a literature review based on desk research, highlighting the previous reading about solving the problem. As a conclusion, it is important to have a clear detail about the potentials of containers and their different usage in life
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION REGIMENS ON ENTEROCOCCUS FAECALIS ELIMINATION FROM INFECTED ROOT CANALS (AN IN-VITRO COMPARATIVE STUDY)
Get PDFMicroorganisms harbored in the complexities of root canal systems might lead to endodontic failures and development of apical periodontitis. Enterococcus faecalis is the most common isolated bacteria in these cases. Aim: This study was conducted to compare the efficiency of four irrigation regimens on the elimination of an inoculated strain of E. faecalis. Materials and Methods: Forty single rooted extracted premolars were inoculated with a standard strain of Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and incubated at 37˚C for two weeks to allow infection of the dentinal tubules. The bacterial suspension was replaced with a new one every 48 hours. The teeth were then divided into four groups of n=10 each, to apply irrigation regimens as follows: Group i: irrigation with normal saline, Group ii: syringe irrigation (NaOCl 2.625%), Group iii: NaOCl 2.625%+EndoActivator and Group iv: NaOCl 2.625%+diode laser. Samples were collected at baseline and after irrigation. Colony-forming unit counts were performed. For baseline count of E. faecalis, differences in means between the groups were tested using the one way ANOVA F test. For the count of E. faecalis after the irrigation, differences in means was assessed using the Kruskal Wallis test. Results: The mean values of % of E. faecalis killed were respectively 99.2 ± 2.53% in group iv, 98.3± 5.34% in group iii, 29.0 ± 5.46% in group ii and 4.77 ± 0.78%) in group i. Conclusion: Maximum removal of E. faecalis strains was achieved by activating 2.625% sodium hypochlorite with the diode laser
ASSESSMENT OF NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE AND CARE PRACTICES FOR INFECTION PREVENTION IN NEUTROPENIC PATIENTS IN BEKAA, LEBANON: A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN
Get PDFNeutropenia is one of the serious complications to chemotherapy that increases the risk of infection and even mortality. Nurses’ knowledge about neutropenia and their care practices are essential in order to protect neutropenic patients from infection. Thus, this study aimed to assess nurses\u27 knowledge and care practices for infection prevention in neutropenic patients in Bekaa, Lebanon. A cross-sectional descriptive research study had been conducted in five hospitals located in Bekaa district. 81 nurses had been recruited by convenience sampling. They completed the ‘Nurses’ Knowledge and Care Practices for Infection Control in Neutropenic Patients’ questionnaire. The majority were females 77.8% (n=63), with a BS degree 65.4% (n=53) and less than 40 years old. The score of nurses knowledges about neutropenia was 18.8/30 while the mean score related to infection prevention and control practice was overall high (mean score=15.7/18). Based on the obtained results, nurses in the five hospitals of Bekaa had a good level of infection control practices despite a moderate level of knowledge about neutropenia
ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT
Get PDFThe arousal of technology has changed a lot of aspects in human life and has drastically changed its path through a revolution that changed the whole world. This revolution took place in various aspects while affecting significantly the global economy and from those fields that considerably affect the life of human beings in the previous and current centuries are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and transportation. It is these two factors that play a major role in the economy of countries and dominate the lives of societies in the world. Thus, this paper studies the impact of the technology revolution on communication and transportation while demonstrating the significance of these two factors and their interrelation as well that resulted from this technology revolution. It tackles the Information and Communication Technology as a crucial outcome of the technological revolution and its effect in its turn on Transportation and the influence both aspects have on individuals. This paper tends to show the relation between the development that Technology caused and the performance of individual’s life. It is quite interesting to study this relation in our life to see this relation that Technology has created in aspects like ICT and Transportation to examine how such a development improved the life of human beings