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OPTIMISED RETROFIT STRATEGIES FOR ENERGY REDUCTION AND COMFORT IN DWELLINGS FOR FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIO IN SOUTHEAST ENGLAND
Get PDFThis paper aims to find an optimum retrofit scheme utilising adaptation and mitigation techniques to a Sub-urban English old house, for an inevitable future climate change. It seeks its aims by investigating the energy performance, as well as the summertime comfort of old dwellings in current and future weather predictions. Studies shows that pre-1990 building stock represents one of the least energy-efficient, as these houses were built before the introduction of building envelope directives in building regulation. Specifically, uninsulated semi-detached houses of the inter-war period can potentially be an essential target for retrofits to reach the 2030 carbon emission goal. Previous researches showing the influence of warming climate on energy consumption and indoor comfort have been frequently explored in academic papers. Nevertheless, reviewed investigations were based on archetypal homes and not on a calibrated model. A sensitivity analysis examining current and future heating demand compared to building envelope main parameters was made to define two retrofit scenarios, the light retrofit scheme and the high retrofit scheme (LR and HR).
Study results show that anticipated hotter temperatures have a significant effect on energy consumption and thermal comfort, especially in retrofit models using highly insulated building envelope. Warmer climate conditions can lead to a decrease in space heating and rise in cooling demand; however, heating demand remains predominant. The study also shows that the moderate retrofit scheme (LR) can achieve more than 80% of energy reduction made in the higher retrofit scheme (HR).
The study reveals that overheating risk is very probable in the near future and shows that the pre-retrofitted dwelling demonstrates risks of overheating even in current weather. The occurrence of overheating in future weather data is inevitable, primarily when assessed against TM59 overheating assessment. However, overheating mitigation through adaptation strategies showed a better overheating evaluation in the light retrofit (LR) scheme compared to the high retrofit (HR) one. It is concluded that most of the energy reduction is conceived when applying the light retrofit scheme while potentially having better summertime comfort than the highly retrofitted one. The research recommends that in order to further establish a well acknowledge retrofit strategy, a greater sample size of dwellings of the same archetype is required. Further study over predicted embodied energy calculation and cost-effectiveness of the LR and HR, compared to their actual and predicted operational energy savings, can potentially materialise the idea of a light retrofit scheme
FACTORS AFFECTING PREGNANCY OUTCOME IN REFUGEE MOTHERS IN LEBANON
Get PDFIn recent years, Lebanon has been a destination for less privileged refugees who seek better living conditions and shelter from regional wars, conflicts and instabilities. Recently, it is estimated that more than 20% of residents in Lebanon are Syrian refugees who live under questionable conditions regarding quality of life. Pregnant women, among their population, are considered more vulnerable to the effect of such living conditions. This study aimed at assessment of pregnancy outcome (birth weight, infant complications…) in a sample of women in refugees areas who have recently given birth and relate this outcome to multiple factors including socioeconomic status of the family, psychological status of the mother, maternal vitamin supplementation, and previous high-risk pregnancies. This study was conducted by a field-based survey, using questionnaire. Sample taken was by convenient sampling of just delivered women, focusing on major areas in Lebanon with the highest population of refugees. Results of our study detected increased risk of having neonatal complications in women with previous high-risk pregnancies. There was statistically significant difference between Syrian and Lebanese women regarding birth outcome. Syrian women were had a higher percentage of complications and lower birth weight than Lebanese women. There were significantly more neonatal complications in families with low income, women with improper antenatal care, and those with a compromised psychosocial state during pregnancy. There was also a high percentage of refugees who did not know about supplementation during pregnancy. Conclusion: Less privileged women in refugee areas during pregnancy and after delivery are not receiving appropriate antenatal care. Poor living circumstances, low socioeconomic status, and compromised psychosocial status of Syrian mothers increase the risk of having neonatal complications and low birth weight of their newborn infants. It is recommended to encourage awareness programs for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon regarding pregnancy and neonatal health. It is advised to provide more strict antenatal care to women who had previous complications in delivery
MEDICAL EDUCATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE EXPERIENCE OF FACULTY OF MEDICINE, BEIRUT ARAB UNIVERSITY (BAU): CHALLENGES, SUCCESSES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Get PDFBackground: The novel Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has significantly disrupted and challenged medical education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In this article, the experience at Beirut Arab University Faculty of Medicine (BAUFM), during the COVID-19 pandemic, is being shared with its challenges, successes and lessons learned. The program of BAUFM is divided into three phases: Pre-Clerkship (Semesters 1 to 6), Clerkship (Semesters 7 to 10), and Pre-internship (Semesters 11 and 12), it extends over six years duration, followed by one year of Internship. The curriculum is developed to be outcomes-based, and is composed from Phases and Modules. Methodology: In this study, Data was collected from interviews with members of Medical Education Department and Quality Assurance Unit, in addition to feedback questionnaire from students and instructors. Qualitative data was summarized, coded and sorted manually, while quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (IBM SPSS version 23.1). Results: Adherence to social distancing has eliminated all face-to-face activities, including in-person classes, in-person small group discussions and workshops, during which students used to interact with their peers and tutors in students-centered learning activities. Lectures were covered through help of virtual teaching platforms, online educational resources and audio-recorded Power-Points Presentations; whereby they were given to students in interactive (synchronous) sessions, or provided with audio support (asynchronous). Students’ satisfaction to online learning was 40%. While 54% of instructors believe that online learning should encompass less than 25% of the curriculum, 36% believe that it should cover 25-50%. Reflection and Discussion: The most important challenges that were faced, during the COVID-19 pandemic, were with the clinical rotations that used to take place during the Clerkship and Pre-internship phases. Decision was taken to ensure that all year six clinical rotations were to be completed which enabled their graduation on time. For the 4th and 5th year students, clinical rotations were resumed in Modules that included outpatient clinical exposure, while postponed for other Modules to the next academic year. A number of students (30%), regardless of their level of training, showed interest in community engagement and in volunteering community activities during the Coronavirus pandemic. Lessons Learned: BAUFM, while committed to its mission in graduating competent, humane, ethical, and socially accountable physicians, has to modify its learning strategy to comply with the recent international changes in medical education. Conclusion: Although COVID-19 pandemic has affected the educational program, BAUFM responded early by shifting to online education in the theoretical part of the curriculum. Meanwhile, the educational program and the curriculum learning objectives were maintained to comply with the accreditation standards. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transformation of education in BAUFM to the online and blended learning
THE NEAR AND DISTANT DISCOURSE TOWARDS DISASTERLE DISCOURS PROCHE ET LOINTAIN ENVERS LA CATASTROPHE
Get PDFAbstract: When it comes to talk about a disaster, it is not easy to maintain the objectivity and neutrality towards the event. Emotions can be very explicit, especially when the speaker is “related” to the people affected. “Related” with means kinship does not only mean being a member of one\u27s family, but also of the same region, the same country, or even the same ethnic group. This research aims making a linguistic and discursive comparison between the discourse of two different cultures (Arab and Western) towards the catastrophe. We will take as an example, the disaster of the Jordanian school bus which was swept away by torrential rains in 2018 which caused the death of 20 people, mostly schoolchildren. We are going to do a discourse analysis of the texts which dealt with this catastrophe in the Western press on the one hand, and of the texts in the Arab press on the other hand
Résumé: Lorsqu’il s’agit de raconter l’évènement d’une catastrophe, il n’est pas facile de garder son objectivité et sa neutralité vers l’évènement. Les émotions peuvent être très explicites surtout quand le locuteur a un lien de « parenté » avec les gens sinistrés. Le lien de parenté ne signifie pas seulement être un membre de sa famille, mais aussi de la même région, du même pays, voire de la même ethnie. Il s\u27agit dans cette recherche de faire une comparaison linguistique et discursive entre le discours de deux cultures différentes (arabe et occidentale) envers la catastrophe. Nous allons prendre comme exemple, la catastrophe du bus des écoliers jordaniens qui a été emporté par les pluies diluviennes en 2018 qui a causé la mort de 20 personnes en majorité des écoliers. Nous allons faire une analyse de discours des textes qui ont traité cette catastrophe dans la presse occidentale d\u27une part, et des textes dans la presse arabe d\u27autre par
BLOCKCHAIN AND SMART-CONTRACTS, AN EXAMPLE OF COEXISTENCE BETWEEN LAW AND THE CORRESPONDING SCIENCES, “ECONOMICS AND MATHEMATICS AS AN EXAMPLE”-A READING IN PHILOSOPHY AND AUTHENTICATION
Get PDFFollowing to an in-depth analytical approach, the research presented a academic study with a civic perspective, which presented the doctrine of each of the Blockchain software, and its main output, S-Contracts , in comparison with the legal doctrine on the one hand and the contract doctrine on the other hand, as a model for the affected cases. And the influence between law and economics on the one hand, and law and mathematics on the other. Referring to two main sections, the first presentation of the economic doctrine of the Blockchain software, and the second presentation of the logistical doctrine of smart contracts S-Contracts . The research highlighted the difficult positioning of the law within this new model of inter-coexistence, between economics on the one hand, and mathematics on the other hand. Indicating how these two sciences have placed him between the economic weight of the Blockchain program and the mathematical equation hammer for S-Contracts, so that you look to him in his purely economic dimension, while you do not see the second in his contractual relations beyond an arithmetic process, It operates according to the concept of an automated policeman, indicating the consequences of that, in terms of canceling and altering many legal concepts rooted in the general theory of obligation in general, and in contract theory in particular, such as the concept of error and damage, the concepts of compensation and liability, the theories of emergency conditions and force majeure, and the preventive and protective role of the judge, Expressing the spirit of law, not law .... and others. Within this critical inter-equation, the research recommended the necessity of reviewing the law for itself, and shifting thinking from traditional coexistence frameworks to exploring digital coexistence frameworks. By adapting and moving from reaction to action. Hoping that he would not let economics, with its liberal, utilitarian philosophy, or of mathematics, by its abstract nature, determine how this software might affect the law or the relationships within it. Stressing the need to put in place the legislative frameworks that regulate this, according to a dimension that takes into account the philosophy and rootedness of value law, not utilitarian economics or linguistics. It also enhances the integration between the various concepts of these concepts, without any of them canceling the other, according to an integrative participatory rather than abolitionist, provided that the valued human aspect remains the supreme word, leading to building a more disciplined, more efficient, and more fair
REFERRAL OF SYRIA TO ICC BETWEEN POLITICAL AND LEGAL REFUSALS
Get PDFDespite the fact that a lot of international crimes were committed during the Arab Syrian Republic conflict, which has been described by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a non-international armed conflict, referral of Syria to International Criminal Court (ICC) Fails. Also, Security council which is the body that plays a crucial role in maintaining peace and security couldn’t end the conflict. Confirmed by Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (IICI) that international crimes were committed in Syria by all conflict parties, there was a great need to refer Syrian conflict to ICC. Thus, our problematic is as follows: Is it possible to refer Syrian file to ICC by virtue of ICC legal system and the current international reality? Thus, many questions arise: How international humanitarian law and international human rights law describe current events in Syria? Based on complementarity principle, could the Syrian national judiciary prosecute the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law violators? How can criminal justice be applied on those who committed international crimes in Syria? We will try to answer the abovementioned questions in our research
DZ-BAU2021-14N AS NOVEL PYRAZOLOPYRIDINE NANOCRYSTALS: APPRAISAL OF ANTICANCER ACTIVITY AGAINST HCT-116 AND HT-29 COLORECTAL CANCER CELL LINES
Get PDFMentioning DZ-BAU2021-14 (C19H17N5O2,347.370 g/mol) developed in BAU Labs, its promising preliminary antitumor effect nominated it to be selected as a lead antiproliferative compound against colorectal cancer cell lines owing to its proved Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibition (Kassem et al., 2021). Solving many problems restricting traditional cancer therapy, nanotechnology is offering safety margins and targeted delivery of poorly soluble drug. The potential effect of this compound was combined with the advantages of nanotechnology, precisely nanocrystals to achieve better antiproliferative and hopeful less cytotoxic patterns. The nanocrystals DZ-BAU2021-14N were prepared by an antisolvent precipitation technique using Poloxamer 407 and Cremophor® RH 40 as stabilizers. The nanocrystals were obtained with a nanometric particle size (89.80 ± 11.2 nm) and a negative zeta potential (-32.6 ± 0.50 mV) and were stable at 4 ± 0.5°C with no significant change in particle size or zeta potential. The anticancer activity of DZ-BAU2021-14 and DZ-BAU2021-14N were assessed. Their antiproliferative effects against colorectal cancer cell lines HCT-116 and HT-29 were studied via viability assay. In addition, their cytotoxic effects on non-tumorigenic cell lines NCM-460D were evaluated and respective IC50 values were determined. Different responses were obtained; DZ-BAU2021-14N provided lower IC50 on HCT-116 compared to the free drug DZ-BAU2021-14 (27 and 22 µM, respectively). The safety profile of the free drug was reflected by its IC50 on NCM-460D of 200µM while that of drug nanocrystals showed relative cytotoxicity with IC50 of 33µM, and this requires further investigation to study this response
OIL PRICE FLUCTUATIONS IMPACT ON THE LEBANESE ECONOMIC WELL BEING
Get PDFThis paper investigates the impact of oil price fluctuation on the Lebanese economic well being during the period from 1988 to 2018 using multivariable ordinary least square method with annual time series. taking the Lebanese GDP per capita as proxy for the economic wellbeing as dependent variable and the crud oil average annual prices as proxy for oil price fluctuations with Labor and gross fixed capital formation as two control variables. The test results show a significant and positive impact for the oil price fluctuations on the Lebanese economic well being and the significant results for control variables. In testing the stationarity for the model using ARMAX and LAD, the tests show good for the models and proof stationarity. Based on the results the Lebanese policy makers should work to minimize the negative impact for the oil price fluctuations on the Lebanese economic well being mainly through refereeing to green investments
RESILIENCE, EMOTION REGULATION, PEER RELATIONSHIP, HUMOR AND BODY-ESTEEM IN INDIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Get PDFThe aims of the present study were (1) to explore sex-related differences and (2) to estimate the associations between resilience, emotion regulation, peer relationship, humor, and body-esteem. A sample of Indian college students (N = 1000) took part in this study. They responded to the Hindi versions of the resilience scale, emotion regulation questionnaire for children and adolescents, peer relationship scale, humor style questionnaire, and body-esteem scale. Results indicated that men obtained higher mean scores on resilience, peer relationship, humor, and body-esteem than women. All the correlations between the variables were statistically significant and positive. It was concluded that those who consider themselves as resilient experienced greater emotion regulation, body-esteem, humor, and peer relationship
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE AND SYSTEMIC RISK: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED MENA REGION COUNTRIES
Get PDFAgainst the context of the consecutive world financial crisis, this paper aims to evaluates the merits of market-based against bank-based financing by analyzing the correlation between financial structure and systemic risk of eleven countries within the MENA region. Within the study three hypotheses are tested; first, if financial structure and systemic risk are significantly related, second, if this relation is non-linear relationship and the third one is if bank financing doesn’t contribute to systemic risk above the threshold financial structure value. To our knowledge no paper has addressed this issue in the selected countries. This paper uses a balanced panel of 253 observations for the period between 1995 and 2018 to perform the empirical analysis. Our results from the fixed effect panel regression, confirm that this relation is significant between financial structure and systemic risk, supports a non-linear relationship and has an inflection point as proved by the cubic model regression. In light of these results, stock-markets are more resilient to systemic risk and non-interest income activities offered by the banks are considered to be a source of risk