101 research outputs found
The Impact of Signal Strength over Routing Protocols in Wireless Networks
No full textIn ad hoc routing protocols the source node may need an intermediate nodes to transmit the packets into the destination if the destination is not within transmission range of the source. This paper studies the impact of signal strength of nodes over ad hoc routing protocols and explains an important effect of signal strength on ad hoc routing protocols in four different directions including the routes and the nodes. As a result the study give an important improvement in ad hoc routing protocols when using signal strength compared to other ad hoc routing protocols without considering signal strength
'Hammondia heydorni' from the Arabian mountain gazelle and red fox in Saudi Arabia
No full textUnsporulated oocysts were detected in the feces of an Arabian red fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) between 6 and 8 days after it had been fed meat from Arabian mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) known to contain sarcocysts. No oocysts were discovered in the feces of other experimental cubs, although sporocysts of Sarcocystis spp. were passed subsequently by all cubs that were fed gazelle meat, including those fed with reem (G. subgutturosa marica). The oocysts sporulated in 3 days at room temperature (25 ± 2 C); they were 10.9 ± 1.4 × 10.1 ± 1.3 μm, with 2 sporocysts measuring 6.0 ± 0.6 × 4.7 ± 0.8 μm, each with 4 sporozoites. Sporulated oocysts were identified as those of Hammondia heydorni using molecular and standard morphometric techniques. Sequence differences between 2 fox and 3 dog isolates of H. heydorni were detected and allowed differentiation between the 2 populations of the organism. The involvement of Neospora caninum was excluded using molecular methods. The Arabian red fox and the Arabian mountain gazelle in Saudi Arabia are new, definitive and intermediate hosts for H. heydorni
The Impact of Residency Programs on Clinical Decision-Making and Leadership Skills Among New Saudi Graduate Nurses
No full textThis work was embargoed by the author and will not be publicly available until May 2016.Saudi Arabia is challenged by a nursing shortage as are several other countries. Due to the intense working environment, increasing patient acuity, and complex technologies, health care settings create challenges for new graduate nurses. Thus, health care institutions have adopted residency programs to help new graduate nurses to become fully competent and transition from student nurses to independent practicing nurses and bedside leaders. Nurse residency programs are reported to have proven beneficial and positive effects on new graduate nurses. The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive study was to assess the impact of residency programs on the clinical decision-making and leadership skills of new Saudi graduate nurses who had completed a residency program within 1 week to 3 months of the time this study was conducted, and new Saudi graduate nurses who did not participate in residency programs. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Benner's Novice to Expert model. A convenience sample of n = 98 new graduate nurses was collected from three hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Clinical decision-making skills were measured using Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale and clinical leadership skills were measured using the Clinical Leadership Survey. An independent t-test, bivariate association, and multiple linear regression analysis were utilized to test hypotheses concerning different groups. The findings revealed a significant difference between the residency program group and the nonresidency program group in clinical decision-making (t = 23.25, p = 0.000) and leadership skills (t = 10.48, p = 0.000). However, there were no significant differences in the average number of clinical decision-making and leadership skills based on the length of their residency program (6 months vs. 12 months). In addition, a moderate positive correlation was found between overall grade point average (GPA) and total clinical decision-making scores (r = 0.365, p = 0.000), and overall GPA and total clinical leadership skills (r = 0.440, p = 0.000). The clinical decision-making regression model explained 86.9% of the variance in total clinical decision making by the differences in age, overall GPA, and enrollment in a residency program. In addition, the clinical leadership skills regression model explained 60.6% of variance in total clinical leadership skills by the differences in age, overall GPA, total clinical decision-making scores, and enrollment in a residency program. This study is one of the first such studies that examined the impact of residency programs on clinical decision-making and leadership skills' of new Saudi graduate nurses who completed a residency program. The findings of this study indicate that there is a need to implement more residency programs in hospitals of Saudi Arabia. It is imperative that nurse managers and policy makers in Saudi Arabia consider these findings to improve nurses' clinical decision-making and leadership skills, which will in turn improve patient care
Gene therapy with mesenchymal stem cells expressing IFN‐ß ameliorates neuroinflammation in experimental models of multiple sclerosis
No full textRecombinant IFN-ß is one of the first-line treatments in multiple sclerosis (MS), despite its lack of efficacy in some patients. In this context, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising therapeutic alternative due to their immunomodulatory properties and multipotency. Moreover, by taking advantage of their pathotropism, these cells can be genetically modified to be used as carriers for delivering or secreting therapeutic drugs into injured tissues. Here, we report the therapeutic effect of systemic delivery of adipose-derived MSCs (AdMSCs), transduced with the IFN-β gene, into mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Relapsing-remitting and chronic progressive EAE were induced in mice. Cells were injected i.v. Disease severity, inflammation and tissue damage were assessed clinically, by flow cytometry of spleens and histopathological evaluation of the CNS respectively. Genetic engineering did not modify the biological characteristics of these AdMSCs (morphology, growth rate, immunophenotype and multipotency). Furthermore, the transduction of IFN-ß to AdMSCs maintained and, in some cases, enhanced the functional properties of AdMSCs by ameliorating the symptoms of MS in EAE models and by decreasing indications of peripheral and central neuro-inflammation. Gene therapy was found to be more effective than cell therapy in ameliorating several clinical parameters in both EAE models, presumably due to the continuous expression of IFN-β. Furthermore, it has significant advantages over AdMSC therapy, and also over systemic IFN-ß treatment, by providing long-term expression of the cytokine at therapeutic concentrations and reducing the frequency of injections, while minimizing dose-limiting side effects.This work was supportedby Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Spain) andFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) from the Eu-ropean Union through the research grants PI12/01097 andPI15/00963 and ISCIII Red de Terapia Celular TerCelRD12/0019/0006 to F.M., by the Consejería de Economía,Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía-FEDER/Fondo de Cohesion Europeo (FSE) de Andalucía through theresearch grants P09-CTS-04532, PI-57069 and PAIDI-Bio-326to F.M. and PI-0160/2012 to K.B. M.J.P.-M. has been sup-ported by grants from Red Temática deInvestigaciónCooperativa Red Española de Esclerosis Múlti-ple REEM (RD07/0060 and RD12/0032). B.O. is financed bya contract from Excelent Project CTS-7670/11 fromConsejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo(Junta de Andalucía).Author contributionsL.L., F.M. and M.S contributed to the design and concept ofthe study. C.M.-B., K.B., C.M.-J., B.O., I.H.-G., M.J.P.-M. andM.S performed the experiments. D.C., F.deC., O.F., L.L., F.M. and M.S analysed and interpreted the data. F.M, D.C.and M.S drafted the manuscript. L.L., O.F. and M.S revisedthe manuscript.BJP C Marin-Bañasco et al.250 British Journal of Pharmacology (2017) 174 238–253S
Empower E-wallets Payment System by using A Hybrid Approach of Online and Offline Services
No full textPayment mechanisms are migrated to mobile devices as e-commerce grows, creating e-wallets. The current e-wallet payment solutions are based on online-connected smartphones. The transaction is completed using a mobile application, which requires a GPRS and Wi-Fi connection. People around the world are becoming more interested in e-wallets. Nevertheless, in Iraq, it grows slower than in other parts of the world after survey is done to ascertain the primary elements influencing Iraqis’ adoption of electronic wallets. This paper proposes a design of e-wallet Mobile app offering online to offline (O2O) payments that aim to replace traditional e-wallet, credit cards, debit cards, and cash using offline connectivity, near-field communication (NFC), and SMS-based payment mechanisms that are independent of internet connection.</jats:p
Route Discovery Development for Multiple Destination Using Artificial Ant Colony: Google MAP Case Study
No full textSmart cities need a smart applications for the citizen, not just digital devices. Smart applications will provide a decision-making to users by using artificial intelligence. Many real-world services for online shopping and delivery systems were used and attracted customers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemics when people prefer to keep social distance and minimize social places visiting. These services need to discover the shortest path for the delivery driver to visit multiple destinations and serve the customers. The aim of this research is to develop the route discovery for multiple-destination by using ACO Algorithm for Multiple destination route planning. ACO Algorithm for Multiple destination route planning develops the Google MAP application to optimize the route when it is used for multiple destinations and when the route is updated with a new destination. The results show improvement in the multiple destination route discovery when the shortest path and the sequence order of cities are found. In conclusion, the ACO Algorithm for Multiple destination route planning simulation results could be used with the Google Map application and provide an artificial decision for the citizen of Erbil city. Finally, we discuss our vision for future development
Mental Health Surveillance Among Children -- United States, 2005-2011
No full textMental disorders among children are described as "serious deviations from expected cognitive, social, and emotional development" (US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, and National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health; 1999). These disorders are an important public health issue in the United States because of their prevalence, early onset, and impact on the child, family, and community, with an estimated total annual cost of $247 billion. A total of 13%-20% of children living in the United States experience a mental disorder in a given year, and surveillance during 1994-2011 has shown the prevalence of these conditions to be increasing. Suicide, which can result from the interaction of mental disorders and other factors, was the second leading cause of death among children aged 12-17 years in 2010. Surveillance efforts are critical for documenting the impact of mental disorders and for informing policy, prevention, and resource allocation. This report summarizes information about ongoing federal surveillance systems that can provide estimates of the prevalence of mental disorders and indicators of mental health among children living in the United States, presents estimates of childhood mental disorders and indicators from these systems during 2005-2011, explains limitations, and identifies gaps in information while presenting strategies to bridge those gaps. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (6.8%) was the most prevalent parent-reported current diagnosis among children aged 3-17 years, followed by behavioral or conduct problems (3.5%), anxiety (3.0%), depression (2.1%), autism spectrum disorders (1.1%), and Tourette syndrome (0.2% among children aged 6-17 years). An estimated 4.7% of adolescents aged 12-17 years reported an illicit drug use disorder in the past year, 4.2% had an alcohol abuse disorder in the past year, and 2.8% had cigarette dependence in the past month. The overall suicide rate for persons aged 10-19 years was 4.5 suicides per 100,000 persons in 2010. Approximately 8% of adolescents aged 12-17 years reported 6514 mentally unhealthy days in the past month. Future surveillance of mental disorders among children should include standard case definitions of mental disorders to ensure comparability and reliability of estimates across surveillance systems, better document the prevalence of mental disorders among preschool-age children, and include additional conditions such as specific anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder. Standard surveillance case definitions are needed to reliably categorize and count mental disorders among surveillance systems, which will provide a more complete picture of the prevalence of mental disorders among children. More comprehensive surveillance is needed to develop a public health approach that will both help prevent mental disorders and promote mental health among children.Ruth Perou, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Stephen J. Blumberg, Patricia Pastor, Reem M. Ghandour, Joseph C. Gfroerer, Sarra L. Hedden, Alex E. Crosby, Susanna N. Visser, Laura A. Schieve, Sharyn E. Parks, Jeffrey E. Hall, Debra Brody, Catherine M. Simile, William W. Thompson, Jon Baio, Shelli Avenevoli, Michael D. Kogan, Larke N. Huang.Corresponding author: Ruth Perou, PhD, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.Includes bibliographical references (p. 17-21)
Gene expression data analysis identifies multiple deregulated pathways in patients with asthma
No full text©2018 The Author(s).Peer reviewe
Enhancing Wireless Sensor Networks Routing Protocols based on Cross Layer Interaction
No full textWireless sensor networks aim to develop a smart city based on sensing environment. The routing protocols of wireless sensor networks is important to transfer the data in smart cities since sensor nodes have limited power and transmission range. The aim of this research is to enhance wireless sensor networks routing protocols based on proposed cross-layer interaction between physical layer and network layer also a proposed routing table information of wireless sensor nodes is developed to consider the transmission power of neighbor’s nodes to determine the next hop. Cross-layer interaction provides a useful information and effective adaptation for WSN routing protocols. As a result, the proposed routing protocol shows an improvement in network performance when number of intermediate nodes are minimized
Enhanced Smart Industry Wireless Sensor Networks for Smart Factory: Status, Challenges and Perspectives
No full textIndustrial Wireless Sensor Networks are increased in recent years due to provide real-time monitoring, decision-making and controlling. Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks used in many factories such as: food production, aircraft factory and pharmaceutical factory. The aim of this research is to focus on the Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks in smart factory and the challenges that need to be considered in use such as: its location, energy consumptions and security. The research discuss different issues are highlighted the importance of using real-time decision-making to improve the performance of the process and provide service monitoring for industrial process improvement
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