98 research outputs found
Academic freedom at Palestinian universities : a human rights report
No full textBassem Eid traces the history of Palestinian Universities over three
periods - the Israeli occupation early 1970s until the Intifada, the
Intifada and its aftermath and the current era. The author examines
the serious problems and restrictions faced by University students
and intellectuals. He denounces a series of human rights violations
particularly the rights of freedom of expression and association. Such
violations include deportations, violence against students, arrests and
detentions without formal charges and unfair dismissal of professors
who spoke their minds. These human rights violations are not solely
a result of Israeli oppression but also a result of the interference of
the Palestinian Authority. The author probes into the University
Security Administration and the presence of undercover agents
within the universities, who monitor and report the activities of
individuals, are associated with the Islamic bloc or who criticise the
Palestinian Authority.peer-reviewe
Author response
No full textDetecting pathogens and mounting immune responses upon infection is crucial for animal health. However, these responses come at a high metabolic price (McKean and Lazzaro, 2011, Kominsky et al., 2010), and avoiding pathogens before infection may be advantageous. The bacterial endotoxins lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are important immune system infection cues (Abbas et al., 2014), but it remains unknown whether animals possess sensory mechanisms to detect them prior to infection. Here we show that Drosophila melanogaster display strong aversive responses to LPS and that gustatory neurons expressing Gr66a bitter receptors mediate avoidance of LPS in feeding and egg laying assays. We found the expression of the chemosensory cation channel dTRPA1 in these cells to be necessary and sufficient for LPS avoidance. Furthermore, LPS stimulates Drosophila neurons in a TRPA1-dependent manner and activates exogenous dTRPA1 channels in human cells. Our findings demonstrate that flies detect bacterial endotoxins via a gustatory pathway through TRPA1 activation as conserved molecular mechanism.sponsorship: Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie Alessia Soldano Luis Franco Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Bassem A Hassanr Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0702.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0077.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0680.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0681.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0503.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0654.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0761.10N Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0596.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0565.07 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven GOA/14/011 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar European Commission IUAP P7/13 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekensr KU Leuven OT/12/091 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven PF-TRPLe Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talavera (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0702.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0077.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0680.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0681.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0503.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0654.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0761.10N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0596.12, KU Leuven|GOA/14/011, KU Leuven|OT/12/091, European Commission|IUAP P7/13, KU Leuven PF-TRPLe)status: Publishe
Les plages de Beyrouth : privatisation et communautarisation d’espaces publics
No full textBeirut beaches appeared on the western side of the city, which was once the most cosmopolitan district. The author describes these public spaces and the way of life prior to the war. He also considers the main evolutions that took place through the war period.El-Jisr Bassem. Les plages de Beyrouth : privatisation et communautarisation d’espaces publics. In: Reconstruire Beyrouth. Les paris sur le possible
Corrections to “D2D-V2X-SDN: Taxonomy and Architecture Towards 5G Mobile Communication”
No full textIn the above article [1], the following author bios must be updated as their posts and positions were upgraded, and the profile picture of Bassem F. Felemban was previously incorrect.Scopu
Investigation into Interfacial Transports and Exchange Flows for Lake Models
No full textMany lakes act as receiving waters for polluted runoff and other effluents. Water quality problems in lakes depend for their management on numerical lake transport models. Lake transport models have recently become quite detailed and realistic. However, a difficulty still facing this field is the determination of the interfacial transports at the boundaries and related model parameters. Numerical modelling of lake physics and bio-chemistry requires special treatment of the boundaries at the air-water interface, sediment-water interface at the bottom of the lake and horizontal densimetric fluxes of active materials across the lake boundaries into and out of the lake. This latter problem is particularly complex when two interconnected lake basins of dissimilar characteristics exchange flow via communicating channel. In this study, the following important parameters were derived and related to lake and flow conditions: surface drag coefficients, vertical eddy diffusion coefficients and bottom roughness. At the air-water interface, momentum transfer is studied and the over-water wind stress is determined using the logarithmic wind velocity distribution and Von Karman's integral equation for turbulent flow over a rough movable surface of variable roughness. Thus the wind drag coefficient is determined as a function of wind-and-wave characteristics. At the lake bottom, shear stress due to a very rough lake bed, with weed growth, is determined as a function of local parameters such as weed length and distribution. The approach is particularly suitable for shallow lakes with considerable roughness. Also, vertical transports at the sediment-water interface and in the water column above the sediments is studied using two natural tracers: temperature and Radon-222 isotope. Vertical eddy diffusivity in the lower layers of a lake is determined as a function of depth and time by using the observed temperature and Radon profiles. At the lateral boundary, exchange flow between two interconnected stratified bodies of water is investigated. The local exchange is modeled through a proper treatment of stratified flow at the open boundaries at the two ends of the "connecting channel" and proper presentation of the effect of the adjacent basins. Numerical models are developed to study the above processes and boundary conditions. The computational algorithms are tested for theoretical and computational performance. Numerical models are tested against available field observations at Valens reservoir, Hamilton harbour, Baldeggersee (Switzerland) and Lake Erie. A three-dimensional hydrodynamical model of lake currents is applied to two, non-stratified and stratified, lakes during summer periods where field observations were carried out: Valens reservoir and Hamilton harbour.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD
Efficacy and safety of natalizumab extended interval dosing
No full textObjective: It is postulated that extending the dosing interval of natalizumab (NTZ) from 4 to 5–8 weeks might decrease the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of extended interval dosing (EID) on the therapeutic efficacy of natalizumab. Methods: We reviewed 85 patients treated at two MS centers in the Middle East with natalizumab for at least 6 months using EID. Patients were shifted after an initial treatment period at standard interval dosing (SID) to an EID ranging from 5–8 weeks. Results: The mean treatment duration on SID and EID was 15.4 ± 11.9 and 11.8 ± 7.0 months, respectively. By the end of SID and EID treatment 95.3% and 93.9% of patients were free of relapses (P = 0.41) with an annualized relapse rate (ARR) of 0.0006 and 0.001 respectively (P = 0.42). The mean EDSS at the end of SID and EID periods was 2.56 ± 1.62 and 2.59 ± 1.61 respectively (P = 0.84). A total of 97.6% and 94.7% of patients had no enhancing lesions on MRI during the SID and EID periods respectively (P = 0.18). There were no cases of PML and the rate of infections was lower during the EID period. Conclusion: In patients treated with natalizumab, shifting from SID to EID has no negative effect on efficacy as evidenced by relapse rate, disability progression and MRI activity. © 201
Optimizing Joint Data and Power Transfer in Energy Harvesting Multiuser Wireless Networks
No full textEnergy harvesting emerges as a potential solution for prolonging the lifetime of the energy-constrained mobile wireless devices. In this paper, we focus on radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting for multiuser multicarrier mobile wireless networks. Specifically, we propose joint data and energy transfer optimization frameworks for powering mobile wireless devices through RF energy harvesting. We introduce a power utility that captures the power consumption cost at the base station (BS) and the used power from the users' batteries, and determine optimal power resource allocations that meet data rate requirements of downlink and uplink communications. Two types of harvesting capabilities are considered at each user: harvesting only from dedicated RF signals and hybrid harvesting from both dedicated and ambient RF signals. The developed frameworks increase the end users' battery lifetime at the cost of a slight increase in the BS power consumption. Several evaluation studies are conducted in order to validate our proposed frameworks. 1 2017 IEEE.Manuscript received August 25, 2016; revised February 16, 2017 and May 9, 2017; accepted June 9, 2017. Date of publication June 22, 2017; date of current version December 14, 2017. This work was supported by the National Priorities Research Program under Grant NPRP 5-319-2-121 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The review of this paper was coordinated by Prof. Y. Li. (Corresponding author: Bassem Khalfi.) B. Khalfi and B. Hamdaoui are with Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 USA (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]. edu).Scopu
Palestinian Authority: Bassem Eid, aged 38, human rights activist ,follow-up #1
No full textA document from Amnesty Internationals Urgent Action Networ
Uncomputability in Information Theory
No full textWe present a powerful approach for learning about uncomputability and undecidability in informationtheory. Our approach is to use automata from automata theory that have undecidable properties toconstruct channels for which an information-theoretic quantity is uncomputable or undecidable. Wedemonstrate this approach by showing that, for channels with memory, capacity is uncomputable andinformation-stability is undecidable
Palestinian Authority: Bassem Eid, aged 38, human rights activist ,follow-up #2
No full textA document from Amnesty Internationals Urgent Action Networ
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