Optimized Job Scheduling approach based on Genetic algorithms in smart Grid environment

The advances in communications and information technologies have been playing a major role in all aspects of our lives. One of those majors aspects that affect our daily lives is the power grids which lead to what we call Smart Grids. One of the major challenges in these grids is to optimize the consumption and resources. This paper presents an optimized job scheduling approach using genetic algorithm which provides a minimum cost for completing different tasks in a grid environment.  In grid environment different independent appliances are sharing the same resources depending on the availability of resources and the need of these appliances to run. There are different job scheduling approached starting from typical strategies, Ant Colony (AC) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). In this paper we present a cost optimized Genetic Algorithm approach for appliances job scheduling by considering different parameters like job duration time, the resources availability and the job priority to start. The proposed approach is tested using a simulator written in c++ programming language. The results show that the total saving in cost is better than the previous approaches

Knowledge and Attitudes of Young People toward Mental Illness: A Cross Sectional Study

The aim of the study was to investigate young Jordanians’ knowledge and attitudes toward people who have a mental illness. A cross sectional design was utilized. A convenient sample of 858 participants aged between 15–24 years old completed a survey. Participants under 19 years were accessed through their schools and those 19 years and above were accessed through universities. Results showed that although the majority of university and school students’ responses were generally consistent, they disagreed on 11 items on the survey; for example, 186 (39.3%) of university students agreed that mental illness has a biological origin compared with only 119 (30%) of school students. The majority of young people 737 (85.9%) were willing to learn and 792 (92.3%) felt that they have to help people with mental illness, which make them willing to learn. In conclusion, the findings provide insights for decision makers and researchers in Jordan about young peoples’ knowledge and attitudes toward mental illness. Increasing young adults’ literacy through introducing educational programs such as mental health first aid courses will enrich their knowledge; help change attitudes and reduce stigma toward people living with mental illness

E/Z reversible photoisomerization of methyl orange doped polyacrylic acid-based polyelectrolyte brush films

The photoswitching behavior of the polyacrylic acid (PAA) doped by methyl orange (MO) brush film was investigated using spectral analysis of UV-Vis absorbance, Fourier Transformation Infrared spectroscopy, 2D electrical conductivity mapping and Atomic Force Microscopy. The kinetics and time evolution of the photoisomerization of the PAA-MO PEBs film from E-state to Z-state by UV-light irradiation, and reverse thermal relaxation to E-state was explored. The results confirm that the photoisomerization kinetics of the overall peak is the superposition of the photoisomerization kinetics of (Formula presented.) transition, low- and high-frequency of the (Formula presented.) transition bands. The E–Z transformation led to transforming the azobenzene from flat with no dipole moment to 3.0 D dipole moment. Hence, the electrical conductivity escalated accordingly. The transformation of E-state to Z-state led to the collapse of the formed brushes because of the angular rotational momentum consequent to E–Z isomerization

Revisiting the anatomy of the cephalic vein, its origin, course and possible clinical correlations in relation to the anatomical snuffbox among Jordanian

Background: The cephalic vein is one of the most distinguished superficial veins of the upper limb. Its clinical value lies in venous access. There is little known about the variation of its formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Hence, anatomical variants in the origin of the cephalic vein are important in clinical practice. Subsequently, this study was designed to examine the variation of the cephalic vein formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of 438 subjects (722 hands), was prepared to study the cephalic vein among Jordanian students and staff of one of the major governmental Medical College in Jordan, by using infrared illumination system. The obtained data was analysed according to; gender, sidedness, and handedness. Results: Four sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox were found. There was a significant relation between gender and sidedness, and the sites of formation of the cephalic vein (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Conclusions: For the first time this study identified different sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. However, regardless of its sites of formation, the cephalic vein was running in 98% of the examined hands in the anatomical snuffbox

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

PP 11-13 and Health Professions, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Mail Code (3124), PO Box 3660

Abstract: In this article we present our results on a study of performance gap among our male and female college students. Our choice for the study tool for this work was the force concept inventory (FCI). We gave the test to our students twice; before and after our instructions on force and motion. The overall performance of male and female students in both tests along with details about individual questions is reported. The mean percentage scores showed a gender gap in favor of male students. Male students outperformed female students in almost every one of the thirty questions of the inventory in both the pre and the post test

Synthesis, Optical, Chemical and Thermal Characterizations of PMMA-PS/CeO2 Nanoparticles Thin Film

We report the synthesis of hybrid thin films based on polymethyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) doped with 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% of cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs). The As-prepared thin films of (PMMA-PS) incorporated with CeO2 NPs are deposited on a glass substrate. The transmittance T% (λ) and reflectance R% (λ) of PMMA-PS/CeO2 NPs thin films are measured at room temperature in the spectral range (250–700) nm. High transmittance of 87% is observed in the low-energy regions. However, transmittance decreases sharply to a vanishing value in the high-energy region. In addition, as the CeO2 NPs concentration is increased, a red shift of the absorption edge is clearly observed suggesting a considerable decrease in the band gap energy of PMMA-PS/CeO2 NPs thin film. The optical constants (n and k) and related key optical and optoelectronic parameters of PMMA-PS/Ce NPs thin films are reported and interpreted. Furthermore, Tauc and Urbach models are employed to elucidate optical behavior and calculate the band gaps of the as-synthesized nanocomposite thin films. The optical band gap energy of PMMA-PS thin film is found to be 4.03 eV. Optical band gap engineering is found to be possible upon introducing CeO2 NPs into PMMA-PS polymeric thin films as demonstrated clearly by the continuous decrease of optical band gap upon increasing CeO2 content. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis is conducted to identify the major vibrational modes of the nanocomposite. The peak at 541.42 cm−1 is assigned to Ce–O and indicates the incorporation of CeO2 NPs into the copolymers matrices. There were drastic changes to the width and intensity of the vibrational bands of PMMA-PS upon addition of CeO2 NPs. To examine the chemical and thermal stability, thermogravimetric (TGA) thermograms are measured. We found that (PMMA-PVA)/CeO2 NPs nanocomposite thin films are thermally stable below 110 °C. Therefore, they could be key candidate materials for a wide range of scaled multifunctional smart optical and optoelectronic devices

Effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme on weight and fasting blood glucose in “at-risk” adolescents of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Randomized controlled trial

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme for type 2 diabetes by change in weight and fasting blood glucose level in Jordanian adolescents. Sixteen percent of Jordanian adults have obesity-related type 2 diabetes and 5.6% of obese adolescents examined, however one-third unexamined. Rates in Arabic countries will double in 20 years, but this can be prevented and reversed by controlling obesity. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2 unisex high schools in Irbid, Jordan, in 2012. Intervention and control participants, aged 12 to 18 years, were visibly overweight/obese. They were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 205) or control (n = 196) groups. At-risk students were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, for change in weight and fasting blood glucose level following preventive instruction and parent-supported changes. Mean age of participants was 15.3 years with equal percentages of both males (49.4%) and females. Post intervention, the intervention group, demonstrated statistically significant reductions: mean difference of 3.3 kg in weight (P <.000) and 1.36 mg/dL (0.075 mmol/L) in fasting blood glucose (P <.000). School-based early prevention intervention effectively reduced weight and fasting blood glucose in Jordanian at-risk adolescents

Investigating the Knowledge of Vector Concepts of First Year Medical Students

Purpose: We report in this article the results of a study conducted on our first year medical students. This study is supposed to serve as an initial general survey of students' knowledge of vector concepts. Our goal here is to get initial insights on students’ misconceptions when about vectors. The results from this study should help plan our next stage of this particular research project. Method: Our test tool was the test of understanding vectors “TUV” first developed by Pablo Barniol and Genaro Zavala in 2014.1 The test was given to a total of 240 students at the beginning of the semester before they were exposed to any vector related instruction (pre-test). Results: We found weak overall performance of our students represented in very low scores in the test (average score 26%). We were also able to determine the major misconceptions held by students by examining their wrong answers for each question. Some of the misconceptions found were: using tip-to-tip method rather than tail-to-tip to add or subtract vectors, the component of a vector (x or y) has a magnitude equal to the vector magnitude, and multiplying a vector with a negative sign doesn't change its direction. Full list of vectors misconceptions is reported in the discussion. Discussion: Results reveal some serious problems in vector concepts understanding that require some attention and careful future planning. Based on the results, we recommended adding a special section on vector concepts to be given to students right at the start of the semester to prepare them better for the course