Lifestyle factors influencing bone health in young adult women in Saudi Arabia

Aim: To analyze risk factors leading to osteopenia and osteoporosis among young female students.Methods: Quantitative Ultrasonography measurements were performed in the calcaneal region of 101 young Saudi females. Dietary habits, exercising and sun exposure were assessed using questionnaires. The association between the different studied factors was assessed by Pearson test and multiple linear regression model.Results: Participants diagnosed with either osteopenia or osteoporosis (>33%.) showed significant higher soft drinks consumption, reduced exercise, limited intake of milk and dairy products, calcium and vitamin D supplementation compared to the healthy group. Multiple regression analysis showed that T-score and Z-score were negatively associated with soft drink intake and positively associated with exercising, milk and dairy products consumption, and calcium and vitamin D supplementation use (p <0.05)Conclusion: High soft drink intake, lack of exercising and limited calcium and vitamin D supplementation are the combined lifestyle factors leading to osteopenia and osteoporosis among young Saudi females. These findings might serve as a basis of nutrition education intervention to promote healthy bones among this population.Keywords: Lifestyle factors, osteoporosis, osteopenia, young women, Saudi Arab

Optimization of low pre-operative hemoglobin reduces transfusion requirement in patients undergoing transurethral resection of prostate

Objective: To identify factors that influence peri-operative hemorrhage in view of reducing the need for transfusions in patients undergoing trans uretheral resection of prostate (TURP). Methods: All patients undergoing TURP between January 1997 and December 1999 were identified using lCD 9CM coding and indexing system. Overall 430 patients were identified, however, 384 charts were included and reviewed for demographics, pre and intra-operative data and post-operative morbidity. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of presence of significant hemorrhage. Results: Overall 384 patients were analyzed. Nineteen patients had hemorrhage - group I whereas 365had no significant hemorrhage - group II. Mean age and co-morbidities in the two groups were similar. However, in group I, 58% presented with urinary retention compared to 33% in group II. In group I, factors that reached statistical significance include; operative time (pConclusion: Operative time, weight of resected prostate tissue are inter related and are only partly controllable. Low pre-operative hemoglobin is the only reversible factor in reducing transfusion following TURP (JPMA 53:1 04;2003)

BIM-based surface-specific solar simulation of buildings

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is rapidly growing as an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. PV panels can harvest the solar power and turn it into a clean source of electricity. Traditionally, PV panels are only used on the rooftops of buildings. However, with the emergence of building-integrated solar panels in recent years, other surfaces on the building façade can be considered for the installation of PV panels. Given that different panels have different cost and performance profiles, it is of a cardinal importance to properly design the PV panels on the building facades to ensure a maximum benefit-cost ratio. Existing simulation and optimization methods do not discriminate between different types of surfaces of the building and treat the building envelope as a set of polygons. This can result in under- or over- design since there is a strong relationship between the type of the surfaces and the type of PV panels that can be attached to them or integrated with them. The advent of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in recent years has provided a rich platform for object-based evaluation and analysis of buildings. Nonetheless, currently, BIM is not used for a detailed and surface-specific simulation of building surfaces. In this research, a BIM-based method is developed for a detailed simulation of a building envelope using its surface properties. A prototype is developed using Dynamo visual programming platform to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, and a case study is presented for a building in Montreal, Canada. In the light of the result of the case study, it can be concluded that the proposed method is promising in terms of providing the input for a comprehensive planning of the solar panel layout

Towards Sustainable Production Processes Reengineering: Case Study at INCOM Egypt

INCOM Egypt has undergone automation in some processes where critical aspects of its operations are transformed and automated. This paper presents an overview of INCOM Egypt processes using Ould Riva and analyses the process of ‘handling a product’. It aims to demonstrate effective automation of the production of wires and cables process accompanied to Industry 4.0 while considering environmental and economic sustainability goals that were inhibited by COVID-19 restrictions. Ould’s Riva method is used to analyse the production process of wires and cables to propose improvements for automating the process. Business process modelling is utilised to study the processes for clearer understating. The flow of information within the process is also analysed to integrate the production process with other processes and supply chains, which helps to identify which production activities can be automated and mainstreamed into the information flow to achieve environmental and economic sustainability. The context of INCOM Egypt, as a case study, is presented along with the Riva model of its operations. The paper identifies the before, i.e., As-Is process, and after, i.e., To-Be Process, automation of the ‘handle a product’ process using the Role Activity Diagram (RAD). The process involved redesigning and improving different activities to increase resource-use efficiency to participate in achieving the goals of sustainability. The focus of this paper is to investigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on sustainability and to examine the accomplishments of process automation of wire production towards environmental and economic sustainability. The results of the research reveal a relationship between business process modelling and sustainability. Moreover, automation of processes (Industry 4.0) is found to reduce the negative effect of COVID-19 on production. A triangulation between process modelling, process automation (Industry 4.0), and sustainability was determined. Each one is reinforcing and impacting one another. The RAD model demonstrates that automation of the activities in the process reduces waste, time, cost, and redundant processes as factors of sustainability, which may also help to lessen the unfavorable effects of the pandemic. The results proved generalisation on other organisations in the same line of business