A review of the literature on the issues and roles of E-Learning in UAE higher education

E-Learning is becoming a popular delivery method across various universities and colleges in UAE as the region is experiencing a rapid growth of e-Learning in higher education. Adequate infrastructure, changes in demographic profile, globalization, government initiatives, outsourcing and increasing demand for IT knowledge-based jobs are the major factors responsible for e-Learning growth in higher education in UAE. However, e-Learning has many problems such as inadequate equipment, improper guidance on using e- Learning gadgets, inadequate infrastructure, changes in demographic profile, globalization, inadequate government initiatives are the major problems of e-Learning growth in higher education in UAE. Based on this review, e-Learners have shown indeed a very high level of understanding concerning the potential and value of e-Learning. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will offer opportunities to improve policy and practice of e-Learning in higher education in the UAE so as to solidify its position as an e-learning hub in the gulf region

Energy Efficient Node Deployment in Wireless Ad-hoc Sensor Networks

We study a wireless ad-hoc sensor network (WASN) where $N$ sensors gather data from the surrounding environment and transmit their sensed information to $M$ fusion centers (FCs) via multi-hop wireless communications. This node deployment problem is formulated as an optimization problem to make a trade-off between the sensing uncertainty and energy consumption of the network. Our primary goal is to find an optimal deployment of sensors and FCs to minimize a Lagrange combination of the sensing uncertainty and energy consumption. To support arbitrary routing protocols in WASNs, the routing-dependent necessary conditions for the optimal deployment are explored. Based on these necessary conditions, we propose a routing-aware Lloyd algorithm to optimize node deployment. Simulation results show that, on average, the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing deployment algorithms.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Particle Ratios From Strongly Interacting Hadronic Matter

We calculate the particle ratios for a strongly interacting hadronic matter matter using non-linear Walecka model (NLWM) in relativistic mean-field approximation. A comparison with Hadron Resonance Gas Model is made.Comment: 18 pages, 23 figure

Price of Competition and Dueling Games

We study competition in a general framework introduced by Immorlica et al. and answer their main open question. Immorlica et al. considered classic optimization problems in terms of competition and introduced a general class of games called dueling games. They model this competition as a zero-sum game, where two players are competing for a user's satisfaction. In their main and most natural game, the ranking duel, a user requests a webpage by submitting a query and players output an ordering over all possible webpages based on the submitted query. The user tends to choose the ordering which displays her requested webpage in a higher rank. The goal of both players is to maximize the probability that her ordering beats that of her opponent and gets the user's attention. Immorlica et al. show this game directs both players to provide suboptimal search results. However, they leave the following as their main open question: "does competition between algorithms improve or degrade expected performance?" In this paper, we resolve this question for the ranking duel and a more general class of dueling games. More precisely, we study the quality of orderings in a competition between two players. This game is a zero-sum game, and thus any Nash equilibrium of the game can be described by minimax strategies. Let the value of the user for an ordering be a function of the position of her requested item in the corresponding ordering, and the social welfare for an ordering be the expected value of the corresponding ordering for the user. We propose the price of competition which is the ratio of the social welfare for the worst minimax strategy to the social welfare obtained by a social planner. We use this criterion for analyzing the quality of orderings in the ranking duel. We prove the quality of minimax results is surprisingly close to that of the optimum solution

Response of Sunflower Yield and Phytohormonal Changes to Azotobacter,Azospirillum,Pseudomonas and Animal Manure in a Chemical Free Agroecosystem

There are new trends in agriculture to move toward the low input systems with the lower application of chemical fertilizers. To reach this goal, different methods, such as the application of biofertilizers, may be used. So this experiment was conducted in 2010 at a research farm in Arak, Iran, in factorial in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications and four factors: animal manure (M), Pseudomonas putida (P), Azotobacter chroococcum (A)and Azospirillum lipoferum (Z). Results indicated that manure significantly affected grain yield (P≤0.01); the highest grain yield was achieved in the interaction of manure × Azotobacter × Pseudomonas (4.556 ton/ha). Grain yield was not significantly affected by the microorganisms. Moreover, the four factors of the experiment significantly affected auxin, gibberellin and cytokinin content of plant. Overall, this experiment indicated that desirable yield can be achieved by the application of manure and biofertilizers, in a sustainable agriculture

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome presented with sudden renal failure and history of long-lasting psychosis and hypertension in a 42 years old women

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: The catastrophic variant of the antiphospholipid syndrome (CASP) is defined as a potential life-threatening variant of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which is characterized by multiple small-vessel thrombosis that can lead to organ failure especially renal deterioration. This vaso-occlusive nephropathy mainly affects arterioles, interlobular arteries and glomerular tufts. However, interstitial area and tubules maybe subsequently involved. © 2013, Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention. All rights reserved

Renin-angiotensin system blockage for reduction of plasma adiponectin level in maintenance hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction. Plasma adiponectin level is markedly increased among patients on hemodialysis. This investigation aimed to evaluate the relationship between renin-angiotensin system blockade and serum adiponectin concentration in nondiabetic patients on hemodialysis. Materials and Methods. This randomized double-blind controlled trial was conducted on a group of nondiabetic patients on regular hemodialysis. The first group received losartan, 12.5 mg twice per day for the 1st week, 25 mg twice per day during the 2nd week, and 75 mg/d from the 3rd week to the end of the 16th week. Patients of the control group received placebo. Blood samples from all of the patients were collected at the beginning and at the end of the study to measure serum adiponectin. Results. Seventy-three hemodialysis patients were divided randomly into the losartan group (40 patients) and the control group (33 patients). The mean adiponectin level in all of the patients was 10.6 ± 3.9 μg/mL. A significant decrease of serum adiponectin level was observed after 4 months of treatment with losartan (8.86 ± 3.43 μg/mL for losartan group versus 10.71 ± 3.94 μg/mL for the control group; P = .04). None of the patients had a serum potassium value greater than 5 mg/dL or hypotension during the intervention. There was no significant difference in serum potassium levels between the two groups. Conclusions. The decrease in serum adiponectin level in nondiabetic patients on regular hemodialysis by losartan might offer a potential protective approach in these patients. Mechanisms responsible for this reduction remain to be investigated. © 2016, Iranian Society of Nephrology. All rights reserved