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ESTABLISHING A NEW RESTORATION STRATEGY TO USE NANOMATERIALS IN REVIVING DAMAGED BUILDINGS POST-DISASTER
Get PDFNanotechnologies are a new solution of many problems of contemporary society, by creating products and processes for more specific uses with less environmental impact throughout their life cycle. The use of new technology such Nanotechnology in the restoration of damaged buildings post-disaster will be a contemporary solution to achieve sustainable development. After the explosion of Port of Beirut in August 4, 2020, it is necessary to search a new technology that restore and retrofit damaged buildings and in the other hand, to achieve the architectural quality, comfort and energy saving, in addition to its impact on energy consumption rates, its economy feasibility, in order to reduce primary energy consumption and greenhouse gases emission in the residential sector. The aim of this study is to establish a new restoration strategy depending on the use of nanomaterials to revive the damaged buildings due to the disasters. The results shows that the integration of Nanotechnology in the restoration and conservation of damaged buildings, we will achieve more efficient and durable built environment through balancing new technology with sustainability
EFFECT OF SORAFENIB ON HUMAN COLON CANCER CELLS
Get PDFABSTRACT: Sorafenib, a kinase inhibitor, is among the approved drugs for the treatment of radioactive iodine resistant thyroid carcinoma, primary kidney and liver cancers. Reported targets of Sorafenib include VEGFR, Raf family, and PDGFR belonging to the general class of tyrosine kinases. Blocking growth signals in kidney and breast cancers underlie one of the mechanisms of Sorafenib antitumor effects’ leading to cell death. We hereby examine the effect of Sorafenib on human colon carcinoma cell-line HCT116. We also investigate the possible role of p53 in mediating this effect using mutant HCT116 p53-/- cells. Cultured wild and mutant cells are treated with Sorafenib (0-75µM) for 24 hr. This is followed by assessing the viability of cells using MTT and trypan blue exclusion assays. We also examined if Sorafenib mode of action is mediated by ROS. Levels of ROS were determined in the presence and absence of antioxidants using the colorimetric NBT assay. Our preliminary results show a concentration dependent decrease in viability (trypan blue) with an estimated EC50 of 10 and 25 µM for HCT116 and HCT116 p53-/- respectively. Compared to trypan blue, MTT results were similar in case of HCT116 p53-/- but were significantly different with HCT116. Furthermore we obtained a significant increase in level of ROS of: 37.11% and 31.30% for HCT116 and HCT116p53-/- respectively. However, 2 hours pre-incubation of cells with antioxidants, Trolox, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and catalase, prior to Sorafenib treatment, exerted no different effect. No restoration of viability or decrease in generated ROS level was noted except when pre-incubated with NAC. Our preliminary findings show that Sorafenib action is independent of ROS level and p53 expression and further investigations on the mechanism(s) of Sorafenib action are ongoing
NEW TYPE OF LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE FOR USE IN STRUCTURAL CONCRETE
Get PDFThis research studied the utilization of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI-BA) in lightweight coarse aggregate (LWC) production. A special method was followed to prepare the new aggregate to fully replace the normal aggregates (NWA) in concrete. The mechanical properties such as compressive strength, tensile strength, and elasticity modulus were investigated for the LWC concrete. Then, two beams were prepared; one from LWC and the other from NWC. The structural performance of beams made up of lightweight aggregates compared to normal aggregates was investigated. The results showed that this type of aggregates led to a 20% reduction in concrete density. There was a decrease in compressive strength, tensile strength, and elasticity modulus when using lightweight aggregates. In addition, there was a reduction in the structural performance of the NWC beam was better than the LWC bea
CUSTOMERS LOYALTY: DOES VALUE CO-CREATION BECOME INDISPENSABLE FOR UNIVERSITIES?
Get PDFThis paper investigates the direct and indirect relationships between customers` participation in value co-creation activities (CPVCA) and their loyalty. Quantitative research approach is adopted, while the population consists of all the Lebanese private universities` students. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 403 students, nominated according to convenience sampling technique. The study proposed scale validity and the relationships between variables were examined depending on PLS-SEM. The findings reveal a direct significant relationship between CPVCA and customers` loyalty; in addition, to indirect relationship, through the partial mediating role for customers` satisfaction and relationship strength. Research implications and limitations are presented
TECHNOLOGY OF MOBILITY HUBS IN AUTOPIAN FUTURISTIC CITIES
Get PDFUtopias envision perfect societies, however in practice, when imperfect humans attempt perfection they fail miserably. Hence, if Utopia means no place, then Autopia is the alternative place where progress is steadfast and measured by securing a better world for tomorrow. In 2012, the UN issued a report stating that population growth will increase exponentially, reaching up to 9 billion by 2040. The report also states that melted ice due to global warming will eventually cover up to 7% of the world’s land. At this rate, humans will require three times the earth’s land area to keep up with their required resources, otherwise they will be faced with the scarcity of all resources. If nations are overwhelmed with problems of scarcity, then more conflicts will arise. Therefore, it seems that either war or the environment will be the causes of humans’ downfall, making us all competitors in our fight for survival. Therefore, this research aims to explore automation and design strategies of mobility hubs of the futures to achieve self-sustained cities, in an attempt to secure a more humane world for all. It assumes that such technological applications and cybernetics will have the humans’ and environmental concerns at heart. To achieve this aim, the paper used a scientific methodology, based on literature review by analyzing the potential of one case study near the sea, through exploring methods of visual thinking documented by sketches, computational design, and advanced simulation. As a conclusion emphasizing automation as a mean to liberate man from his daily survival needs in order to pursue higher goals and knowledge, which will achieve a society with equal abundance and equity for all
DYNAMIC SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION ANALYSIS: DETECTING THE RELIABILITY OF MODELLING THE PILES AS A PLATE ELEMENT FOR A MULTISTORY BUILDING RESTING ON DEEP FOUNDATION
Get PDFThe assessment of seismic responses of buildings in dynamic-soil-pile-structure interaction problems has been one of the main interests among researchers in recent decades. Simulating such problems is usually done by two-dimensional models to overcome the difficulties encountered in 3D models. Commonly, piles were represented by plate elements of infinite length, disregarding the soil flowing between piles. Recently, Plaxis – a finite element software- implemented a new feature known as “the embedded pile row” that allows the definition of piles\u27 out of plane spacing in a 2D model. Many researchers proved its validity in accurately simulating the real 3D pile’s behavior. The objective of this paper is to detect the reliability of modeling the piles as plate elements, by comparing the performance of the structural-pile system with the plate feature to that with the embedded pile row feature. A series of 2D finite element models are generated while varying the soil type, the earthquake frequency content, and the out-of-plane piles\u27 spacing. This paper demonstrated that the building response with piles modeled as plate elements is just adequate when the surrounding soil is dense. Yet, regarding the pile response, the plate feature is unable to capture the real behavior for all soil types
NEW CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNING THE CIRCULATION ELEMENTS TO REDUCE COVID 19 INFECTION
Get PDFAs a result of the global pandemic recession of COVID-19, cities have imposed several restrictions to control this outbreak by closing their frontiers and forcing social distancing. The conjecture has arisen as to how architecture could be entirely influenced. This field is involved in finding solutions to reduce the spread of this pandemic which became a new issue. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of the movable and flexible circulation elements, the considerations and architectural preventive measures taken were affected during the planning of the post-pandemic built-environment. This paper, therefore, aims to propose a checklist of new design considerations for the circulation elements in the public buildings and the outdoor spaces. These considerations are hypothesised to reduce the possibilities of virus infection. COVID-19, thus providing necessary safety measures from virus attacks, enhancing the defence mechanism of our physical environment. Based on the desk research, this paper will highlight the previous readings. After that, the paper analyses Porto restaurant by MASS group design and Rising Together: The Black Experience with Police in America exhibition as case studies, to recognize their architectural approach concerning the flexibility and circulation, in response to the widespread of the pandemic, and how these strategies became important guidelines to be considered. In conclusion, various considerations in design are conducted in order to achieve the main aim mentioned previously involving health criteria
التخطيط الإقليمي مدخل لمواجهة المخاطر المرتبطة بالتغير المناخي لأقاليم الساحل الشمالي في مصر
Get PDFتعد التغيرات المناخية من أهم المعضلات التي تواجة العالم خاصةً في ظل القضايا الشائكة من الاحتباس الحراري وتزايد ارتفاع درجة حرارة الأرض، وذوبان الصفائح الجليدية وارتفاع منسوب مياه البحار والمحيطات، مما دفع منظمة الأمم المتحدة لإبرام إتفاقية التغيرات المناخية وبروتوكول كيوتو، اللذان يهدفان لخفض هذه الانبعاثات، وأعلنت الهيئة الحكومية الدولية المعنية بتغير المناخ أن دلتا النيل في مصر من بين المناطق الثلاث الأولى على كوكب الأرض الأكثر عرضة لارتفاع مستوى سطح البحر، وأشار تقرير البنك الدولي انه يوجد فى مصر عدة مناطق أوشكت على الغرق تشمل هذه المناطق شديدة الخطورة أجزاء من محافظات الدلتاوالإسكندرية ومحافظات البحيرة وبورسعيد ومحافظات دمياط ومحافظة السويس.
تهدف هذه الدراسة الى مواجهة اهم مخاطر التغيرات المناخية المتمثلة في ارتفاع منسوب البحر في ضوء صياغة التوجهات الاستراتيجية الاقليمية للمناطق الساحلية الشمالية المصرية ،وعلى هذا تم الوقوف في هذه الدراسة على المفاهيم المتعلقة بالتغيرات المناخية واهم تاثيرتها التي يتضح فيها ان التغير المناخي عالميًا يؤدي بشكل مباشرالى ارتفاع مناسيب سطح البحار والمحيطات بسبب ارتفاع درجات الحرارة مما يؤدي هذا الأمر الى محو مدن كبرى فى العالم، و تعتبر مصر من احد الدول التى ستتاثر بهذا الامر خاصة على المنطقة الساحلية الشمالية (الدلتا – اقليم الاسكندرية - اقليم القناة)، وخلال هذه الدراسة تم التركيز على الاقاليم الساحلية الشمالية التى ستتاثر بشكل مباشر حيث تم الوقوف على السيناريوهات المحتملة لارتفاع منسوب البحر على تلك المناطق والتي تراوحت من ( 0.5 -1.5 ) والنتائج المتوقعة لكل سيناريو على السكان والاراضي المعرضة للغرق وتم ترجيح السيناريو الثاني الذي يتوقع فيه ارتفاع منسوب البحر 100 سم واهم نتائجه غرق مساحة قدرها 4500كم2 وعدد السكان المتضررين حوالي 6 مليون • وتم اختيار السيناريو الثاني لانه اعلي من المقدار المتوقع 65 سم ، وعملية التخطيط لابد ان تتم في اطار اكثر حرصا لان المتغيرات المناخية لايمكن توقع سرعة وتيرتها . .كما تم الوقوف على الملامح الرئيسية للوضع الراهن لتلك الاقاليم ومن ثم استنباط المؤشرات التحليلية .
في ضوء تلك المؤشرات تم اقتراح بدائل تخطيطية لتنمية الاقاليم الثلاثة في ضوء التغلب على احد اهم تهديدات و مخاطر التغيرات المناخية :البديل الاول ويتمثل في الابقاء على الوضع الحالي للاقاليم الثلاثة والاتجاه نحو التنمية للكيانات العمرانية في ضوء التكيف مع المعالجات التي تبناها الدولة في التصدي للمتغيرات المناخية .
البديل الثاني ويتمثل في تكثيف اعمال التنمية في المناطق الماهولة بالاقليم خلال الفترة الزمنية الحالية حتى عام 2100 م، ثم يتم توجيه التنمية بعدها الى خارج نطاق المناطق الماهولة .أما البديل الثالث فيتمثل في سرعة التحرك لمواجهة التغيرات المناخية واثارها ،واستخدام اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط في هذا البديل ، وبحيث تكون البداية في اعمال التنمية من الان وتكون سنة الهدف2050 تمتد حتى سنة 2100م، وفي ضوء ترجيح البديل الثالث تم اقتراح الإستراتيجية المكانية للتنمية المقترحة لاقاليم الدراسة ، وتم وضع اليات تحديد مناطق التنمية الجديدة في اقاليم الدراسة ، ومقترحات التوزيع المكاني للتجمعات العمرانية المقترحة ، و تقدير والحجم السكاني المتوقع ،كما تم صياغة التوجهات الاستراتيجية المقترحة للتغلب على التغيرات المناخية من اهمها تشجيع العمل للحد من تعرض النظم البشرية والطبيعية لآثار تغير المناخ ،ودعم الجهات المعنية بالتعامل مع متغيرات المناخ والقدرة على إدارة التكيف مع تغير المناخ . كما تم تحديد دور الجهات المختلفة في تحقيق استراتيجية التغلب على المتغيرات المناخية .
وفي الاخير تم استنباط النتائج التي تتمثل اهمها في وجود اساليب للتعامل مع مخاطر ارتفاع منسوب البحر مثل استخدام الحواجز والحماية الخطية والتنمية المرتفعة والتنمية العائمة والتنمية الفيضانية والاجلاء المخطط,كانت في اغلبها معيبة حيث انها قصيرة المدي وتكلفتها مرتفعة الا اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط الذي كان اقلهم كلفة ، ومن ثم كان اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط هو الاقرب في التعامل مع منطقة الدراسة حيث ان ارتفاع منسوب سطح البحر بالسواحل الشمالية لمصر سيؤدي إلى غرق الأراضي الساحلية حتى عمق 7 كيلومترات, وتوقع تهجير ما يقارب من 6 ملايين السكان من الدلتا، بحلول عام 2100 لذا كان من الضروري اعداد استيراتيجية تنموية تهدف الى اعادة توزيع استخدامات الاراضى فى منطقة الدراسة بما يتناسب مع تداعيات المتغيرات المناخية المتوقعة ، إقامة مجتمعات عمرانية جديدة للتنمية المتكاملة لرفع الأعباء عن المجتمعات القائمة.و اعادة تقسيم الاقاليم التخطيطية الساحلية بحيث يتم ضم اقليم الدلتا الى كل من اقليم الاسكندرية والقناة لايجاد بديل تنموي للتجمعات العمرانية الموجودة بالدلتا في الظهير الصحراوي المستجد
CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONAL REALITY THROUGH THE EYES OF CHAOS THEORY: A LITERATURE REVIEW
Get PDFSince the beginning of scientific management, organizations have been managed by linear structures and rigid scientific understandings, where and for decades scientific models have been dominating the way organizations are built and the way organizational reality is foreseen. Primarily, these traditional managerial perspectives have been challenged by the Chaos theory, which came to detect the linearity ruling each and every aspect of organizations\u27 course of work. Indeed, this theory was not sufficiently conceptualized in organizations’ philosophies and practices; however, within the rapid pace of the continuous changes and instabilities around, the attention to it has been on the rise. Amid the critical importance of linear methodologies and the revolutionary development of Chaos theory, this paper aims to study chaos and the essence of Chaos theory among historical and contemporary perspectives, its contributions to organizations among a bundle of opportunities and constraints, and the extent to which this theory reflects the contemporary organizational reality. Additionally, within the realization of the complex-dynamic features of organizational structures, chaos and order concepts are analyzed along with the convergence and divergence of managerial processes which are debated to be initially embedded in organizations. Furthermore, new managerial perspectives are discussed, giving rise to the challenging necessity in having to persistently manage chaos with flexibility and innovation
THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN ISLAMIC AND CONVENTIONAL BANKS
Get PDFPurpose – This paper aims to examine the association between internal corporate governance and earnings management and to compare earnings management practices in Islamic banks versus conventional banks in the MENA region.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an unbalanced panel data of 20 Islamic banks and 100 conventional banks, from eleven countries in the MENA region over the period 2012-2017. Discretionary accruals are used to measure earnings management by estimating loan loss provision. Regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses.
Findings – The results indicate that Islamic banks provide fewer earnings management practices compared to conventional banks. Besides, the results show that among the six corporate governance mechanisms studied in this paper only board meetings, board size, and board independence can help in mitigating earnings management for conventional banks. Whereas, for the case of Islamic banks, corporate governance mechanisms have no impact on reducing earnings management.
Practical implications – This paper could offer some recommendations for policymakers, regulators, and users of financial statements. The results of this study could assist in improving the monitoring role of the board of directors and understanding the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management.
Originality/value – This paper contributes by investigating the effect of new mechanisms on earnings management, and by examining earnings management practices in Islamic banks compared to conventional banks in unexamined countries and periods.
Keywords Earnings management, Earnings quality, Islamic banks, Conventional banks, Corporate governance mechanisms, Annual reports, MENA region.
Paper type Research pape