An Iteratively Decodable Tensor Product Code with Application to Data Storage

The error pattern correcting code (EPCC) can be constructed to provide a syndrome decoding table targeting the dominant error events of an inter-symbol interference channel at the output of the Viterbi detector. For the size of the syndrome table to be manageable and the list of possible error events to be reasonable in size, the codeword length of EPCC needs to be short enough. However, the rate of such a short length code will be too low for hard drive applications. To accommodate the required large redundancy, it is possible to record only a highly compressed function of the parity bits of EPCC's tensor product with a symbol correcting code. In this paper, we show that the proposed tensor error-pattern correcting code (T-EPCC) is linear time encodable and also devise a low-complexity soft iterative decoding algorithm for EPCC's tensor product with q-ary LDPC (T-EPCC-qLDPC). Simulation results show that T-EPCC-qLDPC achieves almost similar performance to single-level qLDPC with a 1/2 KB sector at 50% reduction in decoding complexity. Moreover, 1 KB T-EPCC-qLDPC surpasses the performance of 1/2 KB single-level qLDPC at the same decoder complexity.Comment: Hakim Alhussien, Jaekyun Moon, "An Iteratively Decodable Tensor Product Code with Application to Data Storage

The Error-Pattern-Correcting Turbo Equalizer

The error-pattern correcting code (EPCC) is incorporated in the design of a turbo equalizer (TE) with aim to correct dominant error events of the inter-symbol interference (ISI) channel at the output of its matching Viterbi detector. By targeting the low Hamming-weight interleaved errors of the outer convolutional code, which are responsible for low Euclidean-weight errors in the Viterbi trellis, the turbo equalizer with an error-pattern correcting code (TE-EPCC) exhibits a much lower bit-error rate (BER) floor compared to the conventional non-precoded TE, especially for high rate applications. A maximum-likelihood upper bound is developed on the BER floor of the TE-EPCC for a generalized two-tap ISI channel, in order to study TE-EPCC's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain for various channel conditions and design parameters. In addition, the SNR gain of the TE-EPCC relative to an existing precoded TE is compared to demonstrate the present TE's superiority for short interleaver lengths and high coding rates.Comment: This work has been submitted to the special issue of the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory titled: "Facets of Coding Theory: from Algorithms to Networks". This work was supported in part by the NSF Theoretical Foundation Grant 0728676

Earnings Management in the Libyan Corporations

International accounting scandals around the world have triggered a wave of interest and discussion on the transparency and integrity of financial statements. Prior literature has stated that due to a variety of motivations and by using different techniques, the management of corporations might intend to influence the figures in financial reporting. The preferred term used in the accounting literature to describe this issue is 'earnings management', which is a very interesting and topical issue for researchers. Therefore, this research investigates the earnings management phenomenon in the Libyan environment. In this research, secondary data, which was accruals-based models, and primary data analysis, which included a questionnaire survey combined with semi-structured interviews, were used to achieve the objectives of this research, that are: to determine the existence and the direction of earnings management in the Libyan context; the motivations and techniques behind that; and the earnings management constraints, which include internal accounting standards, corporate governance mechanism and audit quality. The analysis of secondary data examined the existence and the direction of earnings management in Libyan companies. Accruals-based models were applied on a sample of state-owned and private companies. The results indicated that the majority of the companies that engaged in earnings management by using income-increasing policies accruals were state-owned companies. However, the majority of the companies that engaged in earnings management by using income-decreasing policies accruals were private companies. The above results indicated that there are linkages between the direction of earnings management and the nature of company ownership in the Libyan environment. Further, as regards the relationship between the direction of earnings management and company size, the results of the state-owned companies group indicated that company size was positively and significantly associated with discretionary total accruals. On the other hand, the results of the private companies group indicated that company size was negatively and significantly linked to discretionary total accruals. The primary data analysis was used to investigate three main issues: the motivations behind the practice of earnings management; the most frequently used techniques to practice earnings management; and the earnings management constraints, which include accounting standards, internal corporate governance mechanism and audit quality. These subjects were investigated by using a questionnaire survey administered to external auditors, financial managers and senior accountants, internal auditors, lenders, tax officers and accounting academics. Also, a series of semistructured interviews was combined with the questionnaire survey, which was conducted with selected respondents to the survey. Results indicated that the main incentives for practising earnings management in Libyan state-owned companies were: to mitigate the threat of displacement (i.e. safeguard job position) and/or enhance management reputation, to report profits, to increase the value of management compensation, and to meet regulatory objectives. On the other hand, the main incentives for the private companies were to decrease the amount of taxes and to enhance the chance of obtaining bank loans. Further, the results showed that manipulation of the value of inventory, improper assets revaluation, incorrect capitalising rather than expensing of expenditures, manipulation of accrual estimation, incorrect use of expenses on asset acquisition, and related-party transactions were the most frequently used techniques to practice earnings management in Libya. Finally, the results showed a consensus among respondents on the importance of accounting standard. internal corporate governance mechanisms, audit quality as policies to constraint earnings management in the Libya environment

Physicochemical properties and GC/MS Analysis of BT cotton seed oil

كان الهدف من الدراسة هو معرفة الخواص الفيزيائية والكيمائية للزيت المستخلص من بذرة القطن المحورة وراثياً. بدأت الدراسة بأخذ عينات من بذرة القطن المحورة من محلج مارنجان في مدينة ود مدني ولاية الجزيرة. تم تنظيف البذور جيداً من الشوائب ثم سحنها واستخلاص الزيت منها عن طريق جهاز السكسوليت (تم استخدام الهكسان كمذيب). تم اجراء الاختبارات الفيزوكيميائية للزيت المستخلص وبذرة القطن وشملت هذه الاختبارات ( نسبة البروتين – الرطوبة - الالياف – الرماد - نسبة الزيت- الكثافة - معامل الانكسار - اللزوجة - اللون - رقم الحموضة - رقم اليود -البروكسيد -التصبن ) وكانت نتائج هذه الاختبارات ضمن الحدود التي تسمح بها الهيئة السودانية للمواصفات والمقاييس. أيضا تم اجراء تحليل GC/ MS على عينة الزيت دراسة اهم الاحماض الدهنية المعروفه وكانت النتيجة ان هده الاحماض محتفظة بنفس التركيب البنائي لها ولم يحدث تغيي

Phenotypic and molecular characteristics of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus isolates from stored patient samples in Misurata hospitals and poultry from commercial markets, Libya

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe emergence of virulent and drug-resistant bacterial strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a global public health burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) has placed MRSA and vancomycin-intermediate-sensitive S. aureus (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) on a high global priority pathogens list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to promote the research and development of novel and effective antibiotic therapeutic rationales. Uncomplicated S. aureus bacteraemia (e.g., mild skin infections) may be treatable with the conventional regimens of antibiotics, but resistance strains of the bacteria (e.g., invasive infections), often persist as a high load of bacterial DNA in blood, and has been linked to increased mortality in world populations, irrespective of country or location. Several lines of evidence imply that combinations of vancomycin (a glycopeptide antibiotic that targets cell wall synthesis) and ß-lactam antibiotics that target the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) improve clearance of MRSA bloodstream infections (BSIs)

Detection of Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Polymorphism (C677T) In Sudanese Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a kind of cancer that affects the white blood cells and resort to progress slowly through many years. It’s occur at any age, but is most common in older (60-65 years) of age. This is a cross sectional study aimed to detect MTHFR gene polymorphism (C677T) among Sudanese patients diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia and conducted at the research laboratory of the national center of neurological sciences (NCNS), Khartoum, Sudan.50 patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) diagnosed as BCR-ABL positive by RT-PCR used as a cases and 50 apparently healthy individuals as a control. A 5 ml of blood samples were collected in EDTA anticoagulant container for DNA Extraction and white blood cells count, hemoglobin level and platelets count. Genotyping of the MTHFR was carried out using PCR technique and the SNP (C677T) confirmed by sequencing a subset of samples. The results were analyzed using bioinformatics tools. The results showed; the most affected age group in the patients was 51-60 years followed by 41-50 years which constituted 32% and 30%, respectively. The hematological findings revealed that, the mean of TWBCs was 47.4, HB was 11.9 for patients, 7.2 and 14.1 respectively for control group (P = 0.000). PLT was 313.5 for patients and 287.5 for control group (P = 0.187). MTHFR gene was detected in the all patients (198pb) by the PCR, Sequence results were aligned with the reference sequence of MTHFR gene, the polymorphic C >T was found to be matched with the registered mutation in NCBI data base. This study provides the first evidence for associations of MTHFR gene polymorphism with the risk of chronic myeloid leukemia in Sudanese patients. The C >T genotype of the rs 677 polymorphism in MTHFR gene may have a promoting effect on chronic myeloid leukemia. Keywords: Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), DNA, PCR, RT-PCR, MTHF

Physicochemical properties and GC/MS Analysis of BT cotton seed oil

كان الهدف من الدراسة هو معرفة الخواص الفيزيائية والكيمائية للزيت المستخلص من بذرة القطن المحورة وراثياً. بدأت الدراسة بأخذ عينات من بذرة القطن المحورة من محلج مارنجان في مدينة ود مدني ولاية الجزيرة. تم تنظيف البذور جيداً من الشوائب ثم سحنها واستخلاص الزيت منها عن طريق جهاز السكسوليت (تم استخدام الهكسان كمذيب). تم اجراء الاختبارات الفيزوكيميائية للزيت المستخلص وبذرة القطن وشملت هذه الاختبارات( نسبة البروتين – الرطوبة - الالياف – الرماد - نسبة الزيت- الكثافة - معامل الانكسار - اللزوجة - اللون - رقم الحموضة - رقم اليود -البروكسيد -التصبن ) وكانت نتائج هذه الاختبارات ضمن الحدود التي تسمح بها الهيئة السودانية للمواصفات والمقاييس. أيضا تم اجراء تحليل GC/ MS على عينة الزيت دراسة اهم الاحماض الدهنية المعروفه وكانت النتيجة ان هده الاحماض محتفظة بنفس التركيب البنائي لها ولم يحدث تغيير

Quality of life among gastric cancer patients in one center in Baghdad, Iraq in 2021.

Background: In Iraq, gastric cancer is the ninth most frequent cancer. health-related quality of life (HRQOL) encompasses a person's physical, mental, emotional, and psychological well-being, as well as their social and functional status. These aspects are crucial in assessing the long-term health consequences of stomach cancer. The purpose of this study is to summarize the quality of life among gastric cancer patients and how it affects their daily activity. Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in an oncology teaching hospital in Baghdad Iraq in 2021. 30 patients with gastric cancer diagnosed using endoscopic biopsy were recruited. Participants were asked to answer questions in a structured interview. The questionnaire included questions about the quality of life including symptoms, treatment, and activities of daily living. Results:Half of the sample were males. 46.66% were in their sixth decade or older. 33% had poor quality of life during the recent 3 months and 80% had worse quality of life than before. 50% had worse economic status than before. 30% had a lack of energy almost every day and 80% had a low mood at least once a day. Diabetes is the most frequent co-morbidity. Conclusion: The majority of patients had a good or acceptable lifestyle, but worse than before with half having worse economic status than before. Most participants have bad moods and lack of energy, and the majority have limited social activities. Keywords: quality, life, gastric cancer, Iraq.

The Macrotheme Review A multidisciplinary journal of global macro trends The attributes of stakeholders regarding accounting for oil and gas upstream activities in Libya

Abstract The stakeholders of the financial statements information of oil and gas operating companies in Libya are different from developed countries such as the UK and the US. For instance, investors in developed market economies are one of the significant stakeholders of the financial statements information which help them in deciding how to invest their money . However, in Libya international oil and gas companies (IOCs) and national oil and gas companies (NOCs) do not have investors, because they are not listed in the Libyan Stock Market (LSM) (which was established in 2006). This is because NOCs are owned by the government and IOCs do not have shares in the LSE. Therefore, the difference in stakeholders due to the deference in their attributes (power, legitimacy and urgency). The research has sought to find out attributes of Libyan stakeholders regarding accounting for oil and gas upstream activities i