Overweight and Obesity in Eastern Mediterranean Region: Prevalence and Possible Causes

The objective of this paper was to explore the prevalence of overweight and obesity among various age groups as well as discuss the possible factors that associated with obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). A systematic review of published papers between 1990 and 2011 was carried out. Obesity reached an alarming level in all age groups of the EMR countries. The prevalence of overweight among preschool children(<5 years) ranged from 1.9% to 21.9%, while the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children ranged from 7% to 45%. Among adults the prevalence of overweight and obesity ranged from 25% to 81.9%. Possible factors determining obesity in this region include: nutrition transition, inactivity, urbanization, marital status, a shorter duration of breastfeeding, frequent snacking, skipping breakfast, a high intake of sugary beverages, an increase in the incidence of eating outside the home, long periods of time spent viewing television, massive marketing promotion of high fat foods, stunting, perceived body image, cultural elements and food subsidize policy. A national plan of action to overcome obesity is urgently needed to reduce the economic and health burden of obesity in this region

Applications of Fractional Supersaturated Process and Factor Analysis in the Systemic Risks of Financial Fraud

Fraud is defined as an act committed to deceive people and undermine their trust in financial institutions. The effects of fraud in government financial institutions, the private sector, and at the societal level show that it deeply feeds the economy. Objective. This study aims to shed light on the effects of financial fraud, measure its impact, and determine means to control it. Methods and Materials. This study considered a survey and a questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The total number of participants included in the questionnaire was 77. Two methods were used to search for the real effects of financial fraud, measure its impact, and determine the means to control it: factor and regression analyses. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Results. The factor analysis results reveal the factors that contributed to the effects of financial fraud from A1 to A15, excluding factors A12 and A13. The regression analysis revealed the elements that contributed to the effects of financial fraud on A2, A5, and A14. Conclusion. Based on the findings of the two methodologies and the similarity in the outcomes of the causal variables, the fundamental and authentic aspects that lead to the effects of financial fraud were identified as A2, A5, and A14

Advantages and Disadvantages of Maintenance Outsourcing in Manufacturing Companies: With Special References to Jubail Industrial City – KSA

The research study presents, discusses and offers understanding on outsourcing, the most important benefits (advantages) and potential risks (disadvantages) associated with-in. It emphasizes the outsourcing specialized maintenance activities and its role in business success. In this research, a hypothesis were develop whether the benefits of outsourcing maintenance in manufacturing companies are more than expected risk associated on this. Overall result of the survey ruled out that outsourcing provides more advantage than disadvantage in a manufacturing industry. Manufacturing industry is the major contributor to the Kingdom's economy wherein Jubail is the largest industrial city in the Middle East. This is also the home of Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company. Outsourcing maintenance has been one of the pillars of manufacturing industries in Jubail as become apparent thru the outcome of the study. The research has paved a way for everyone who are engaged in outsourcing maintenance in providing them wise decision making. Managers need to contemplate maintenance outsourcing if it provides potential advantage to their company. Contractor qualification classifications established on the set conditions done by the government is recommended. More studies regarding maintenance outsourcing is needed in the academics as well as in advance forums. The author has successfully developed statistical survey wherein the respondents are professionals, engineers and management of prestigious manufacturing industries in Jubail, It is an impressive feedback that majority of manufacturing industries most likely practice and recommend outsourcing for the maintenance. 84.6% of the overall respondents practice outsourcing in the manufacturing industries and 80.0 % of them is highly recommending outsourcing here in Jubail Industrial City. Likewise, the author recommended future expanded studies interrelated with outsourcing and maintenance. Keywords: Outsourcing, Maintenance, Manufacturing Industries. Jubail Industrial City

Prevalence and risk factors associated with nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean region

This paper reviews the current situation concerning nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (N-NCDs) and the risk factors associated with these diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR). A systematic literature review of studies and reports published between January 1, 1990 and September 15, 2011 was conducted using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, cancer, and osteoporosis have become the main causes of morbidity and mortality, especially with progressive aging of the population. The estimated mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease and diabetes ranged from 179.8 to 765.2 per 100,000 population, with the highest rates in poor countries. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was very high, ranging from 19% to 45%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2) has reached an alarming level in most countries of the region, ranging from 25% to 82%, with a higher prevalence among women. The estimated mortality rate for cancer ranged from 61.9 to 151 per 100,000 population. Osteoporosis has become a critical problem, particularly among women. Several risk factors may be contributing to the high prevalence of N-NCDs in EMR, including nutrition transition, low intake of fruit and vegetables, demographic transition, urbanization, physical inactivity, hypertension, tobacco smoking, stunting of growth of preschool children, and lack of nutrition and health awareness. Intervention programs to prevent and control N-NCDs are urgently needed, with special focus on promotion of healthy eating and physical activity

Development of Electromagnet for Laboratory Water Treatment Experiments

Water is said to be magnetized when it flows across the magnetic field and magnetized water finds its application in many areas of life. Despite the numerous benefits of magnetized water, very little works have been reported on the development of magnet for water magnetizer application. In most of the reported works, the detailed theoretical analysis and design procedure required for the development of the magnet was not accounted for; hence the need for the present study. Electromagnetic means of producing flux density is considered in this study due to its advantage of flux density variation, which is not achievable with the use of its permanent magnet counterparts. The design equation of short electromagnet was derived from the existing equations of coil magnetic flux density and then used for the air core electromagnet design. The variation of the magnetic flux density with the distance between two electromagnets was empirically investigated. The performance of the developed electromagnet is satisfactory, as the flux density varies between 814.6 and 510G corresponding to the gap (0 - 4cm) between the coils (i.e., water pipe diameter). Keywords— Air core, Coils, Iron core, Magnetic flux density, Magnetized wate

Manufacturing of aluminium composite materials : a review

Abstract: Aluminium composite materials are becoming very popular as a result of their physical and mechanical characteristics, which are making them relevant to various applications. The addition of reinforcement materials with unique characteristics into aluminium produces aluminium composites with superior quality. Wear resistance, stiffness, strength and hardness are some of the improved properties obtained when reinforcement materials were added to the primary aluminium. This chapter presents some of the manufacturing processes of aluminium, its alloys and composites. The effects of reinforcements on aluminium composites from existing work and research direction on the fabrication of aluminium composite materials were discussed in this chapter

Development of an Instrumentation System for a Laboratory Model Food Product Dryer

To achieve optimal dryer performance, the process parameters required for both the optimization and control of the drying process must be made available via the instrumentation system. A few works have been reported on the development of instrumentation systems for handling drying system parameters. Out of which, some are deficient in the number of drying process parameters that can be handled, while others are unreliable and inaccurate. Therefore, there is the need to develop a microcontroller-based instrumentation system that can monitor, measure, control, display and store the main drying process parameters and sample weight with a high degree of reliability and accuracy. In this study, the sensors were selected based on system specifications and interfaced with the microcontroller. The codes for controlling, logging and displaying of drying parameters were developed and installed on the microcontroller. When tested at steady-state conditions, the system yielded satisfactory results with maximum control and detection errors being 2.0% and 1.8% for the temperature and sample weight, respectively. The developed system can be used for efficient computation of both the dry and wet basis sample moisture content values and also detect the set sample weight. Keywords— Dryer, Drying parameters, Instrumentation system, Moisture content, Sensor

Dynamic mechanical properties of crosslinked natural rubber composites reinforced with cellulosic nanoparticles

The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of crosslinked natural rubber nanocomposites reinforced with cellulosic nanoparticles obtained from lignocelluloses biomass (coconut husk, bamboo culm and cotton linters) has been investigated and compared with carbon black filled natural rubber vulcanizate. The crosslinked natural rubber matrix based composites were produced by melt intercalation process using two roll mixing mill and vulcanized in a thermally regulated hydraulic press. DMA were carried out in order to obtain their viscoelastic thermo-mechanical spectrum. Results showed decrease in storage modulus (E’) with increasing temperature while glass transition temperatures (Tg) obtained from temperature dependence loss tangent curves were -35.84, 37.30, -34.61, -35.27 and -34.29 oC for neat- natural rubber (NR), natural rubber reinforced carbon black (NR-CB), natural rubber reinforced bamboo cellulosic particles (NR-BNC), natural rubber reinforced coconut husk cellulosic particles (NR-CHNC) and natural rubber reinforced cotton linter particles (NR-CLNC) respectively. The composite of NR-CHNC was also found to give a higher damping factor of 1.563 compared to NR-CB which gave a value of 1.518. nanocomposites reinforced with cellulosic nanoparticles can provide adequate synergy for loading bearing and vibration isolation application.Keywords: Dynamic Mechanical Properties; Damping; Nanocomposites; Grass Transition Temperature