Trademark and patent disputes in Saudi Arabia: an analysis of private international law

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University London.The subject of the conflict of laws and arbitration in intellectual property rights is a complicated topic to research, because the normal rules of private international law and arbitration can be affected by the special characteristics of patents and trademarks. Some rules of these subjects might need to be reformed and in some cases there are principles that should be created to successfully handle cross-border disputes concerning patents and trademarks. Establishment of a special court with supranational jurisdiction may be required to resolve these types of disputes. Recently, this subject has been given enormous attention around the world. While the academics, legislators and forums in developed states have broadly discussed the subject of conflict of laws and arbitration in intellectual property rights, in Saudi Arabia, it has not been given noticeable attention. This thesis intends to make a significant contribution to Saudi law and provide appropriate approaches on the subject of conflict of laws and arbitration in intellectual property rights. The topics which will be covered in this thesis are the rules of international jurisdiction, the rules of choice of law, the rules for enforcement of foreign judgments and the rules of arbitration. The modification and the enhancement of the rules of private international law and arbitration established in Saudi law will be recommended and the arguments for each suggested approach will be presented

Effective Scheduling of Multi-Load Automated Guided Vehicle in Spinning Mill: A Case Study

In the Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS), where material processing is carried out in the form of tasks from one department to another, the use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) is significant. The application of multiple-load AGVs can be understood to boost FMS throughput by multiple orders of magnitude. For the transportation of materials and items inside a warehouse or manufacturing plant, an AGV, a mobile robot, offers extraordinary industrial capabilities. The technique of allocating AGVs to tasks while taking into account the cost and time of operations is known as AGV scheduling. Most research has exclusively addressed single-objective optimization, whereas multi-objective scheduling of AGVs is a complex combinatorial process without a single solution, in contrast to single-objective scheduling. This paper presents the integrated Local Search Probability-based Memetic Water Cycle (LSPM-WC) algorithm using a spinning mill as a case study. The scheduling model’s goal is to maximize machine efficiency. The scheduling of the statistical tests demonstrated the applicability of the proposed model in lowering the makespan and fitness values. The mean AGV operating efficiency was higher than the other estimated models, and the LSPM-WC surpassed the different algorithms to produce the best result

Quality of Life of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

This study aimed at exploring the assessment of Quality of Life (QOL) in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and aiming at assessing the QOL of patients with stages 1–5 Chronic Kidney Disease CKD on conservative treatment in order to identify a possible association between Quality Of Life QOL and progression of kidney insufficiency. The results were compared with those obtained for patients on hemodialysis. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were also evaluated. And the study concluded that research efforts have expanded significantly to determine the state of pediatric CKD patient HRQOL and the factors that impact HRQOL across all stages of CKD and all modalities of renal replacement therapy. Data from all studies suggest that children with a renal transplant fare better with respect to HRQOL than those receiving dialysis

Sleep disorders and its effect on community

The main aim of this paper is to analysis the effect of sleep disorders on the community. This study is quantitative. The questionnaire was designed and distributed among the student in school in the city of Riyadh high and intermediate school. The sample of this study consist 100 students. The researcher visited a school in the city of Riyadh high and intermediate school sections and that on December 10 to 11 to measure the impact of sleep disorders through a questionnaire that measures the effects of lack of sleep and then make them aware of the benefits of sleep and harm of lack of sleep from the physical and psychological effects, and it gave a lecture educate the students and then distribute them brochure contain the benefits and harmful effects of sleep. SPSS 21 was used to analysis that data. The results of the study indicated that lack of sleep limits a person's ability to think and solve the problem effectively, which means that people who wake up for a long time influence them to learn at an effective level. Lack of sleep affects the ability of thinking and can limit your ability to accurately interpret events, which can be difficult to respond correctly to situations in which effective decision-making is intelligent. The lack of sleep, even for one night can lead to swelling of the eyes and turn the skin into pale skin. Keywords: Sleep disorders, community

The Importance of Preventive Medicine in Family Practice: A Review of Current Guidelines and Recommendations

Prevention is seen as a critical topic in family practice. Primordial prevention, primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention, and quaternary prevention are all part of this strategy to disease prevention. To avoid the formation and development of risk factors, primary prevention focuses on addressing the fundamental causes and social determinants of disease. Primary prevention is the practice of preventing illnesses before they arise via the use of treatments such as immunizations and health education. Secondary prevention focuses on illness identification and intervention as early as possible to avoid disease development. Tertiary prevention addresses illness outcomes by restoring health and offering rehabilitation. Finally, quaternary prevention seeks to safeguard patients against needless medical treatments and the harm caused by over-medicating. Risks frequently rise in tandem with frailty and comorbidities. In contrast, advantages frequently drop as life expectancy increases. Preventive management strategies should consider the patient's viewpoint and be mutually agreed upon. Healthcare providers must prioritize the deployment of preventive care services, even when clinical treatments are required, in order to overcome preventive care hurdles. Healthcare practitioners may play a critical role in illness prevention and contribute to family well-being by investing in preventive care and executing these measures

Pediatric Dermatology In Family Medicine: Common Conditions And Management Strategies

Among the most prevalent disorders are those related to the skin.  However, in medical education and training, this class of illnesses is frequently disregarded. The first line of defence for the treatment of common dermatological diseases is a family physician. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the particular identification, management, encountering, and referral practices related to dermatological illnesses in family care. We also looked into the challenges and opportunities that family doctors experience in family medicine and saw a few of the paediatric dermatological diseases that family doctors may encounter.  Finding areas of weakness in the clinical therapy of certain dermatological disorders, however, will be aided by assessing how family doctors treat particular ailments. Thus, this needs assessment might serve as a foundation for future research on the efficacy of family medicine in treating common paediatric dermatological problems as well as aid in the development of evidence-based training for family physicians in the area

Transcranial Tissue Doppler Ultrasound for Emergency Assessment of Acquired Brain Injury

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is known to be a leading cause of death worldwide. It is a challenging health issue for the patient and their relatives. Healthcare systems are increasingly required to deliver high-quality care for this population including early detection and continuous monitoring which could improve outcomes. Transcranial tissue Doppler (TCTD) is a new ultrasound technique used to measure brain tissue pulsations (BTPs). This technique has the potential to be applied in urgent care settings such as emergency departments (EDs) and prehospital care for early detection and screening as well as continuous monitoring of ABI patients. Aim: The aim of this thesis is to explore the clinical potential and feasibility of using transcranial tissue Doppler (TCTD), by using a new prototype to identify patients with ABI. Method: TCTD recordings were obtained using two different methods for both healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with ABI. Different quantitative and qualitative analysis plans were performed to test the reliability and clinical application of the TCTD technique. Results: In this thesis, a systematic review is described, which summarises available ultrasound methods measuring BTPs. This was followed by development of a proposed checklist for identifying abnormal BTP waveforms, with a view identifying stroke patients when compared to age-matched non-stroke participants. The new prototype was found to have good inter-observer reliability and excellent intraobserver agreement. In addition, significant changes in BTP amplitude were noted during recovery from hypocapnia, but not during the hyperventilation manoeuvre itself from 30 healthy participants. Finally, applying the new prototype in an urgent care setting showed no significant diagnostic capability for triaging patients with suspected ABI. Conclusion: Measuring BTPs clinically using TCTD is feasible with some promise in diagnosing stroke patients, however, ABI did not appear to generate any clear diagnostic marks in BTP waveforms in an ED setting.</p

Segmentation of diabetic retinopathy images using deep feature fused residual with U-Net

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a highly consequential condition that significantly impacts individuals with diabetes, often resulting in permanent vision loss if left undetected. The accurate assessment of DR severity heavily relies on the precise segmentation of lesions from fundus images. However, manual segmentation processes are complex and time-consuming. In order to address these limitations, this research introduces a novel approach namely Deep Feature Fused Residual with U-Net (DFFR-U-NET) for the segmentation of DR lesions, specifically Haemorrhage (HM), Hard Exudates (HE), and Optic Disc (OD). The proposed method employs a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture, which incorporates the U-Net model enhanced with a modified bottleneck using residual blocks. This modified U-Net model, composed of robust convolutional blocks and a modified bottleneck, yields optimal results in the segmentation of DR lesions. The training and validation of the proposed method are conducted using the IDRiD dataset, focusing on HM, HE, and OD segmentation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a high level of accuracy in the segmentation of HM, HE, and OD lesions. Model performance is assessed using key metrics such as accuracy, precision, Mean Intersection Over Union (IOU), Mean Dice Coefficient, and Average Hausdorff distance. The analysis reveals that the proposed model attains an accuracy of 98% for HM, 99% for HE, and 99% for OD. Precision scores are 98% for HM, 99% for HE, and 99% for OD. Moreover, the Mean IOU values are 0.91 for HM, 0.95 for HE, and 0.99 for OD. The Mean Dice Coefficient for HM is 0.91, for HE is 0.95, and for OD is 0.99. Additionally, the Average Hausdorff distance for the background is 2.84 for HM, 1.24 for HE, and 0.38 for OD, while for lesions, it is 2.84 for HM, 1.24 for HE, and 0.38 for OD. When compared to existing studies, the proposed approach establishes a state-of-the-art performance in retinal lesion segmentation, highlighting its superiority in this domain

An Agent-Based Modelling and Simulation Framework to Investigate Manufacturing and Retail Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ Immediate Response to and Short-Term Recovery from Flood Events

The predominance and economic significance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) meanswidespread disruption to their operations can have severe financial consequences for a nation’s economy. For instance, the 2007 summer floods in the UK caused damage estimated at £2.3 billion and a significant proportion of this damage was sustained by SMEs, which, in 2018, represented 99.9% (5.7 million) of all UK businesses. Thus, due to the importance of this sizeof business to developed nations’ economies, this research seeks to develop an agent-based modelling and simulation (ABMS) framework to investigate manufacturing and retail SMEs’ immediate response to and short-term recovery from flooding. This ABMS framework consists of three main components: (i) flood-event simulation; (ii) a modelled geographical environment (MGE); and (iii) agent-based modelling and simulation. First, flood-event simulation represents the input (inundation) data that feeds into the MGE component, which provides a common platform for the flood-event simulation and the agent-based modelling and simulation. Specifically, the MGE combines Ordnance Survey (OS) MasterMap® data (i.e. Topography, Integrated Transport Network (ITN), and AddressBase Plus layers) with the input from the flood-event simulation to enable the identification of the flooded and non-flooded organisations. Consequently, a proportion of these identified organisations, and particularly SMEs from manufacturing and retail sectors, are modelled as autonomous agents and simulated over three stages, namely pre-flood, flood (no operation), and post-flood. In addition, SME-related organisations (e.g. suppliers, customers, electrical service providers, plumbing service providers, IT service providers, cleaning service providers, the Environment Agency (EA), mutual aid partners, refurbishment companies, and insurance companies) are also modelled as autonomous agents and simulated to support SMEs’ operation and/or recovery. In terms of SMEs, manufacturing and retail SMEs are modelled as autonomous agents with different sets of attributes (e.g. static and dynamic), behaviours (e.g. pre- and post-flood), and pre-defined precautionary measures (e.g. flood resistance, flood resilience, and businesscontinuity/risk management). Production level and service capability are computed at each simulation tick for every manufacturing and retail SME modelled, respectively, to determine their performance throughout the simulation. In terms of simulation, two real-life case studies of UK flood events in 2007 have been considered: (a) the Lower Don Valley of Sheffield, south Yorkshire, and (b) Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. For the analysis, manufacturing and retail SMEs are categorised according to the level the floodwater reached in their respective premises (i.e. lightly, moderately, and severely) and then each category is investigated individually against each of the simulation experiments defined, which corresponds to different combinations of precautionary measures. As a result, this research has found that the flood resistance precautionary measures, which include a bund-wall being erected around SMEs’ premises, are effective for lightly and moderately flooded manufacturing and retail SMEs. However, the severely flooded manufacturing and retail SMEs simulated with a combination of flood resistance precautionary measures as well as business continuity/risk management tend to achieve higher production levels and service capability profiles, respectively

Factors influencing project team effectiveness to achieve quality of building projects in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This thesis investigated the organisational and project levels factors influencing team effectiveness to achieve quality of building projects in the KSA. Team effectiveness outcomes were also investigated. The research employed two data collection stages for quantitative and qualitative analysis. The survey was validated for evaluating perceived team effectiveness factors to achieve quality through the interviews. The principal component analysis and Thematic analysis were utilised. Relationships among team effectiveness factors were explored in the developed conceptual framework. The conceptual framework enables construction organisations to better understand the organisational and project levels influences on team effectiveness to achieve quality