Are There Rural-Urban Differences in Dentist Supply?

The purpose of this project was to examine the supply of dentists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky at the county level. Counties with shortages in dentist supply were determined and associated factors were examined. Several county-level variables were analyzed. These included total number of dentists, total county population, dentist to population ratio, dentist supply shortage, median household income, median age, percent of Medicaid enrollees, rurality, oral cancer crude incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 and percent of adults missing six or more teeth. This project showed that 42 of the 120 counties in Kentucky had shortages in dentist supply. Also, results found that counties with higher median age and that were urban were more likely to have shortage in dentist supply. In addition, this study showed a significant association between percent of adults missing six or more teeth with rural counties, counties with higher median age and lower median income

A Model for Monitoring End-User Security Policy Compliance

Organisations increasingly perceive their employees as a great asset that needs to be cared for; however, at the same time, they view employees as one of the biggest potential threats to their cyber security. Organizations repeatedly suffer harm from employees who are not obeying or complying with their information security policies. Non-compliance behaviour of an employee, either unintentionally or intentionally, pose a real threat to an organization’s information security. As such, more thought is needed on how to encourage employees to be security compliant and more in line with a security policy of their organizations. Based on the above, this study has proposed a model that is intended to provide a comprehensive framework for raising the level of compliance amongst end-users, with the aim of monitoring, measuring and responding to users’ behaviour with an information security policy. The proposed approach is based on two main concepts: a taxonomy of the response strategy to non-compliance behaviour, and a compliance points system. The response taxonomy is comprised of two categories: awareness raising and enforcement of the security policy. The compliance points system is used to reward compliant behaviour, and penalise noncompliant behaviour. A prototype system has been developed to simulates the proposed model in order to provide a clear image of its functionalities and how it is meant to work. Therefore, it was developed to work as a system that responds to the behaviour of users (whether violation or compliance behaviour) in relation to the information security policies of their organisations. After designing the proposed model and simulating it using the prototype system, it was significant to evaluate the model by interviewing different experts with different backgrounds from academic and industry sectors. Thus, the interviewed experts agreed that the identified research problem is a real problem that needs to be researched and solutions need to be devised. It also can be stated that the overall feedback of the interviewed experts about the proposed model was very encouraging and positive. The expert participants thought that the proposed model addresses the research gap, and offers a novel approach for managing the information security policies

Online news: a study of ‘credibility’ in the context of the Saudi news media

This thesis explores the ‘credibility’ of news in Saudi Arabia, comparing online media with official newspapers. The latter are heavily regulated offering limited viewpoints. But the Saudi government has been less able to regulate online. Against a historical background of news development in Saudi Arabia, the thesis explores the rise of online from discussion forums established in the 1990s to online newspapers and social media. Largely qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups) plus a quantitative survey, were adopted to collect two sets of data: from educated readers, and from journalists working for online publications. Additionally, material from two news case studies was gathered. Questions concerned: how online news was evaluated by users compared to more traditional reporting; how producers perceived the distinctiveness of online titles and the issues they faced. The data from the case studies – an ‘internal’ news story, Corona virus and an ‘external’ event, Egyptian elections – was subjected to ‘frame’ analysis, addressing the different news coverage of official print titles, online news and independent Twitter accounts. Focus was on whether online reporting offered more varied viewpoints and greater reader participation, and whether there was evidence for more management of news by the Saudi authorities in relation to the internal as compared to the external news event. The thesis argues that compared to official newspapers, online titles have largely gained greater credibility amongst educated Saudi users. They are regarded as offering different views, more ‘objective’ reporting and actively encourage reader comment. Findings indicate that online is less censored than official newspapers, but editors/journalists have learnt the skills of self-censorship to avoid blocking. Exchange of views on Twitter also demonstrate the possibility of distinctive voices and viewpoints being aired and argued over. In these ways, the relation between online news and readers/users begins to enable the formation of independent ‘public opinion’

Theoretical studies of the thermoelectric properties of nanostructured materials

This project involves theoretical study of the thermoelectric properties of lead chalcogenidematerials. Thermoelectric (TE)materials are used for the fabrication of devices that are designed to convert heat into electricity and vice versa. They can be described as a clean alternative for fossil fuel. These materials are characterized by their ability to operate at a broad range of temperatures (2 − 800) K. Lead chalcogenides, such as PbTe, PbSe, and PbS, represent a group of TE materials that have the appealing property of stability at high temperatures, hence they are considered attractive for thermoelectric applications. The simple rocksalt structure of lead chalcogenide combined with its narrow gap semiconductor’s nature has attracted great attention form experimental as well as theoretical researchers. These studies have focused on investigating electronic structures and elastic properties aiming for a better understanding that would lead to a significant improvement in their TE efficiency. In the first part of this thesis we evaluated the optimised parameters for the figure of merit for n-type PbTe: The electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient, and the total thermal conductivity, (i.e. the electronic and lattice thermal conductivity), emphasising on the important role of optical phonons in heat conduction. In the second part, we extended the lattice thermal conductivity work to include PbSe, PbS, and SnTe, where we applied the Debye, Callaway, and Allen theories of thermal conductivity. In the third part we used the effective medium theory to evaluate the lattice thermal conductivity for PbTe-PbSe nanocomposites in three different configurations: nanospheres, nanowires, and superlattices

Towards dynamic adaption of user\u27s organisational information security behaviour

The weakest link in the field of information security that has been identified in the literature is the organisation’s employees. Information security policy compliance is one of the main challenges facing organisations today. Although implementing technical and procedural measures clearly helps to improve an organisation\u27s information security, the human factor or the employees\u27 compliance with these measures is the key to success. However, organisations are now having some issues regarding the extent of employee adherence to policy. The problem of employees being unaware or ignorant of their responsibilities in relation to information security is still an open issue. The proposed idea in this paper will seek to enhance end user adherence to information security policies by proposing a framework for security policy compliance monitoring and targeted awareness raising. The foremost aim of this framework is to increase users’ awareness of the importance of following information security policies. Continuously subjecting users to targeted awareness and monitoring their adherence to information security policies should enhance the effectiveness of such awareness efforts. The proposed framework is a part of on-going research and is intended to provide a foundation for future research on a dynamic adaption of users’ behaviour with information security policies

On-load integrated treatment of giant power transformers in a severe scenario

The article describes the asset and risk management approach of a primary electrical company in the Middle East area. A specific maintenance strategy has been carried out for loss prevention of giant transformers, addressing mainly the corrosive sulfur. Starting from the international standards and considering the specific context, the appointed consultancy company GCC Lab selected the most efficient long-term mitigation technique: the selective depolarization. This process, developed and operated by Sea Marconi, is proven to be effective in the removal of DBDS and oil corrosive compounds, even after one year, also restoring all chemical and physical properties of the oil

IRRITANT CONTACT DERMATITIS ON HANDS AND DIAGNOSIS OF IT: A REVIEW

Hand hygiene (HH) is the single most important procedure that can be followed by healthcare workers (HCWs) to reduce the risk of spreading healthcare-associated infections. The irritating contact dermatitis (ICD) that occurs due to the rehashed presentation of HH products and technique is one reason often referred to for resistance. HH is the most vital method that can be followed by HCWs to reduce the possibility of spreading of infection in human being, followed by50% of HCWs. Limited researches are published related to different features of irritant contact disorders among HCWs. This study concentrates manly on the clinical application of irritant contact dermatitis on hands and its diagnosis based on an extensive research review process. It can be concluded from this review that by proper adherence and compliance to necessary HH techniques lead to skin damage and higher pathogen load. Therefore, it is important that HCWs should appreciate this concept and are given methods or tactics of expertise to avoid skin irritation and damage. Inability to provide proper policies, practices and guidelines to these workers may lead to adherence in case of an ICD appearance

Head and Neck Surgery: A Differential Diagnosis in Otolaryngology

Introduction: In otolaryngology of the head and neck surgery; differential diagnosis is a practical and comprehensive guide that is organized uniquely by signs and symptoms instead of by diseases. Aim: This study will describe the keys to diagnostic evaluation and differential diagnosis of presenting symptoms for problems affecting each otolaryngology organ system.Methods: Each symptom opens with the patient’s presentation followed by an easily accessible list of potential diagnoses and supplementary data on the features of the different diseases to help correctly identify the problem. And identify features labeled by signs and symptoms, not by disease, and then enable quick clinical reference In-depth coverage of the diagnostic and treatment evaluation of all ENT disorders.

Masader Plus: A New Interface for Exploring +500 Arabic NLP Datasets

Masader (Alyafeai et al., 2021) created a metadata structure to be used for cataloguing Arabic NLP datasets. However, developing an easy way to explore such a catalogue is a challenging task. In order to give the optimal experience for users and researchers exploring the catalogue, several design and user experience challenges must be resolved. Furthermore, user interactions with the website may provide an easy approach to improve the catalogue. In this paper, we introduce Masader Plus, a web interface for users to browse Masader. We demonstrate data exploration, filtration, and a simple API that allows users to examine datasets from the backend. Masader Plus can be explored using this link https://arbml.github.io/masader. A video recording explaining the interface can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEtdlSeqchk

Dose optimization of β-lactams antibiotics in pediatrics and adults:A systematic review

Background: β-lactams remain the cornerstone of the empirical therapy to treat various bacterial infections. This systematic review aimed to analyze the data describing the dosing regimen of β-lactams. Methods: Systematic scientific and grey literature was performed in accordance with Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The studies were retrieved and screened on the basis of pre-defined exclusion and inclusion criteria. The cohort studies, randomized controlled trials (RCT) and case reports that reported the dosing schedule of β-lactams are included in this study. Results: A total of 52 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 40 were cohort studies, 2 were case reports and 10 were RCTs. The majority of the studies (34/52) studied the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of a drug. A total of 20 studies proposed dosing schedule in pediatrics while 32 studies proposed dosing regimen among adults. Piperacillin (12/52) and Meropenem (11/52) were the most commonly used β-lactams used in hospitalized patients. As per available evidence, continuous infusion is considered as the most appropriate mode of administration to optimize the safety and efficacy of the treatment and improve the clinical outcomes. Conclusion: Appropriate antibiotic therapy is challenging due to pathophysiological changes among different age groups. The optimization of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters is useful to support alternative dosing regimens such as an increase in dosing interval, continuous infusion, and increased bolus doses