83 research outputs found
Report of the 10th Biennial conference of Pan African Pediatric Surgical Association, in collaboration with 28th annual meeting of the Egyptian Pediatric Surgical Association
No full textThis report highlights the 10th Biennial Conference of Pan African Pediatric Surgical Association (PAPSA), in collaboration with 28th annual meeting of the Egyptian Pediatric Surgical Association (EPSA), held at Semiramis Intercontinental, Cairo, Egypt, 12–14 November 2014, and the three precongress workshops held in Cairo University Children’s Hospital from 9 to 11 November 2014.Keywords: congress, Egyptian Pediatric Surgical Association, Pan African Pediatric Surgical Association, repor
Do we really need a new operation for Hirschsprung's disease?
No full textPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47188/1/383_2004_Article_BF00176145.pd
Complete recovery of severe quadriparesis caused by stab wound at the craniocervical junction
No full textElgamal, Essam A.,
Neurosurgery Division, Surgery Department (37), College of
Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital,
PO Box 7805 Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: [email protected]
Tel.: +966-1-4671273
Fax: +966-1-4679493Non-missile penetrating spinal cord injuries are uncommon, and involvement of the craniocervical junction is even less frequent. The author reports a case of 42-
year-old male who presented with quadriparesis immediately following stab injury inflicted with a kitchen knife to
the back of his neck. The knife was retained in the patient’s neck. Neurological examination revealed spastic
paraplegia and severe weakness of the left upper limb and the right-hand grip, and sensory disturbance from C2 and
downwards. In addition to these symptoms, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was leaking from the wound. Computerised tomography (CT) scan showed the blade passed through
the spinal canal and its tip reached the odontoid peg. After retrieval of the knife, his quadriparesis recovered. The
management and outcome of the patient are described
Post-traumatic aspergillus scleritis
No full textPost traumatic fungal scleritis is uncommon and only
a few cases have been reported after trauma. Brunet
and Stulting1 reported a 40-year-old man struck in his
left eye by a flying chip of wood; a diagnosis of episcleritis
was made and Sporthrix schenckii, a dimorphic fungus,
was identified and treated with saturated solution of
potassium iodide. Another case of traumatic scleritis
caused by branch of a tree was reported by Rodriguez-
Ares." Diagnosis was established after biopsy of a scleral
nodule which showed hyphal fragment, and cultures were
positive for Aspergillus fumigatus. The patient was successfully
treated with systemic antifungal drugs, cryotherapy,
and dura graft.
Postoperative fungal scleritis has been reported after
pterygium excision,3"' retinal detachment surgery,8"'1
cataract surgery,1" glaucoma surgery,1 0 and in association
with systemic fungus infection.1 '1Corresponding Author:
Dr. Essam Osman, PRCS, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, PO Box 245, Riyadh 11411, Saudi Arabia.
Email: [email protected]
Development of an impact assessment framework for lean manufacturing within SMEs
No full textThe main aim of the research work presented in this thesis, is the development of a
novel framework with the capability of assessing the impact of implementing lean
manufacturing within small-to-medium sized manufacturing firms (SMEs). By assessing
the impact of lean implementation, SMEs can make informed decisions on the viability
of lean adoption at the conceptual implementation stage. Companies are also able
determine their status in terms of lean manufacturing affordability.
Thus, in order to achieve the above-stated aim, the following were the main set research
objectives; (1) identifying the key drivers for implementing lean manufacturing within
SMEs, (2) investigating the operational activities of SMEs in order to understand their
manufacturing issues, (3) exploring the current level of lean manufacturing usage within
SMEs so as to categorise users based on their levels of involvement, (4) identifying
factors that determine the assessment of lean manufacturing, (5) developing an impact
assessment framework for justifying lean manufacturing within SMEs, (6) developing a
knowledge based advisory system and (7) validating the impact assessment framework
and the developed knowledge based advisory system through real-life case studies,
workshops, and expert opinions.
A combination of research methodology approaches have been employed in this
research study. This comprises literature review, observation of companies' practices
and personal interview. The data collection process involved ten SMEs that provided
consistent information throughout the research project life. Additionally, visitations to
three large size manufacturing firms were also conducted. Hence, the framework and
system development process passed through several stages. Firstly, the data were
collected from companies who had successfully implemented lean manufacturing within
their premise. The second development stage included the analysis and validation of the
dataset through company practitioners. An impact assessment framework was thus developed with the aid of regression analysis as a predictive model. However, it was
realised that there were few correlations between the dataset generated and analysis. The
reasons for this were unclear.
,a
knowledge based advisory system was adopted to
conceptualise, enhance the robustness of the impact assessment framework and address
the problem of the imprecise data in the impact assessment process.
Three major factors of impact assessment were considered in the framework and the
system development process, namely relative cost of lean implementation, a company
lean readiness status and the level of value-added to be achieved (impact/benefits).
Three knowledge based advisory sub-systems that consisted of the abovementioned
factors were built. Results obtained from them were then fed into the final system. The
three sub-systems were validated with the original set of data from companies. This
enabled the assignment of a number of input variables whose membership functions
aided the definition of the fuzzy expert system language (linguistic variables) used. The
final system yielded heuristic rules that enable the postulation of scenarios of lean
implementation. Results were sought and tested on a number of firms based within the
UK, for the purposes validation. These also included expert opinions both in academic
and industrial settings.
A major contribution of the developed system is its ability to aid decision-making
processes for lean implementation at the early implementation stage. The visualisation
facility of the developed system is also useful in enabling potential lean users to make
forecasts on the relative cost of lean projects upfront, anticipate lean benefits, and realise
one' degree of lean readiness
Adapting authoritarianism: institutions and co-optation in Egypt and Syria
No full textThis PhD thesis compares Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian political systems. While the tendency in social science political research treats Egypt and Syria as similarly authoritarian, this research emphasizes differences between the two systems with special reference to institutions and co-optation. Rather than reducibly understanding Egypt and Syria as sharing similar histories, institutional arrangements, or ascribing to the oft-repeated convention that “Syria is Egypt but 10 years behind,” this thesis focuses on how events and individual histories shaped each states current institutional strengthens and weaknesses. Specifically, it explains the how varying institutional politicization or de-politicization affects each state’s capabilities for co-opting elite and non-elite individuals.
Beginning with a theoretical framework that considers the limited utility of democratization and transition theoretical approaches, the work underscores the persistence and durability of authoritarianism. Chapter two details the politicized institutional divergence between Egypt and Syria that began in the 1970s. Chapter three and four examines how institutional politicization or de-politicization affects elite and non-elite individual co-optation in Egypt and Syria. Chapter five discusses the study’s general conclusions and theoretical implications.
This thesis’s argument is that Egypt and Syria co-opt elites and non-elites differently because of the varying degrees of institutional politicization in each governance system. Rather than view one country as more politically developed than the other, this work argues that Syria’s political institutions are more politicized than their Egyptian counterparts. Syria’s political arena is, thus, described as politicized-patrimonialism. Syria’s politicized-patrimonial arena produces uneven co-optation of elites and non-elites as they are diffused through competing institutions. Conversely, the Egyptian political arena remains highly personalized as weak institutions and individuals are manipulated and molded according to the president’s ruling clique. This is referred to as personalized-patrimonialism. As a consequence, Egypt’s political establishment demonstrates more flexibility in ad hoc altering and adapting its arena depending on the emergence of crises.
This study’s theoretical implications suggest that, contrary to modernization and democratization theory’s adage that institutions lead to a political development, politicized institutions within a patrimonial order actually hinder regime adaptation because consensus is harder to achieve and maintain. It is within this context that Egypt’s de-politicized institutional framework advantages its top political elite. In this reading of Egyptian and Syrian politics, Egypt’s personalized political arena is more adaptable than Syria’s. These conclusions do not indicate that political reform is a process underway in either state
- …
