The Human Rights Movement in Arab Countries: Problems of Concept, Context and Practice

First presented at the 1994 Cairo Papers Annual Symposiumhttps://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_book_chapters/1930/thumbnail.jp

Laparoscopic Nephroureterectomy: Oncologic Outcomes and Management of Distal Ureter; Review of the Literature

Introduction. Laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LNU) is being increasingly performed at several centers across the world. We review oncologic outcomes after LNU procedure and the techniques for the management of distal ureter. Materials and Methods. A comprehensive review of the literature was performed on the oncological outcomes and management of distal ureter associated with LNU for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Results and Discussion. LNU for upper tract TCC is performed pure laparoscopically (LNU) or hand-assisted (HALNU). The management of the distal ureter is still debated. LNU appears to have superior perioperative outcomes when compared to open surgery. Intermediate term oncologic outcomes after LNU are comparable to open nephroureterectomy (ONU). Conclusions. Excision of the distal ureter and bladder cuff during nephroureterectomy remains controversial. Intermediate term oncologic outcomes for LNU compare well with ONU. Initial long-term oncologic outcomes are encouraging. Prospective randomized comparison between LNU and open surgery is needed to define the role of these modalities in the current context

L'éducation féminine en Égypte

Cette étude tente d'évaluer les résultats enregistrés dans le domaine de l'éducation des Egyptiennes au début des années 90, soit 120 ans après qu'a été entamée la scolarisation institutionnalisée des jeunes filles. L'Égypte affronte aujourd'hui l'important défi cognitif et technique que lui posent les pays industrialisés. Alors que les secteurs avancés de la civilisation occidentale traversent aujourd'hui une étape décisive dans l'histoire des savoirs et des cultures, l'Égypte se débat toujo..

Profils de la pauvreté et du chômage en Égypte au niveau des unités administratives

Le Fonds social de développement (FSD) a pour objectif ultime de limiter les effets négatifs du programme ERSAP (Economic Reform and Structural Ajustment Program), surtout en ce qui concerne les groupes-cibles les plus vulnérables (par exemple, employés licenciés du secteur public et ménages pauvres, en particulier à chef de famille féminin ou chômeur). Les activités du FSD sont ainsi supposées « répondre à court terme aux besoins immédiats et urgents des groupes-cibles » dans les domaines « ..

A Hybrid Physics-Based and Data-Driven Approach for Predicting the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Heterogeneous Solids

Thermal conductivity is one of the most important physical properties of materials. It plays a significant role in operation, performance and efficiency of the nuclear reactors. This study introduces a novel model for the effective thermal conductivity of polycrystalline solids based on the thin-interface description of grain boundaries (GBs). In contrast to existing models, the new model treats a GB as an autonomous “phase” with its own thermal conductivity. The Kapitza resistance/conductance of a thin interface is then derived in terms of the interface thermal conductivity and width. The predictions of the new model deviate from the corresponding ones from existing models by 1-100% as the grain size approaches the GB width. The development and implementation of two quantitative mesoscale models for the effective thermal conductivity of two important types of nuclear fuels are undertaken. These models account for the effects of temperature, underlying microstructure, and interface thermal resistance for calculating the effective thermal conductivity. High-fidelity finite-element simulations were conducted to validate the predictions of the developed models. These simulations proved the higher accuracy of the developed models. Lastly, to reduce the required computational power, advanced machine learning algorithms were integrated with the validated mesoscale models. This approach is novel and significantly saved the running time and computational cost. The advantages and limitations of the developed models are summarized, and some future directions are highlighted

Recent meta-heuristic algorithms with a novel premature covergence method for determining the parameters of pv cells and modules

Currently, the incorporation of solar panels in many applications is a booming trend, which necessitates accurate simulations and analysis of their performance under different operating conditions for further decision making. In this paper, various optimization algorithms are addressed comprehensively through a comparative study and further discussions for extracting the unknown parameters. Efficient use of the iterations within the optimization process may help meta-heuristic algorithms in accelerating convergence plus attaining better accuracy for the final outcome. In this paper, a method, namely, the premature convergence method (PCM), is proposed to boost the convergence of meta-heuristic algorithms with significant improvement in their accuracies. PCM is based on updating the current position around the best-so-far solution with two-step sizes: the first is based on the distance between two individuals selected randomly from the population to encourage the exploration capability, and the second is based on the distance between the current position and the best-so-far solution to promote exploitation. In addition, PCM uses a weight variable, known also as a controlling factor, as a trade-off between the two-step sizes. The proposed method is integrated with three well-known meta-heuristic algorithms to observe its efficacy for estimating efficiently and effectively the unknown parameters of the single diode model (SDM). In addition, an RTC France Si solar cell, and three PV modules, namely, Photowatt-PWP201, Ultra 85-P, and STM6-40/36, are investigated with the improved algorithms and selected standard approaches to compare their performances in estimating the unknown parameters for those different types of PV cells and modules. The experimental results point out the efficacy of the PCM in accelerating the convergence speed with improved final outcomes

Impact of Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir therapy on the expression levels of inflammasomes in chronic hepatitis C infected patients

Background and Aim:  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of chronic hepatitis. Inflammasomes are multi-protein complexes that sense specific microbial molecules and trigger signaling cascades, leading to caspase1 activation and generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β and IL-18. We aimed to investigate the expression levels of NLRP3, AIM2 and IFI16 inflammasome genes and serum levels of IL-18 in chronic HCV infected patients before treatment and after SVR12. Methods: The study included 30 chronic HCV infected patients and 30 healthy controls. The expression levels of inflammasome genes were evaluated by Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and serum levels of IL-18 were evaluated by ELISA at baseline and after SVR12 with three months regimen of Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir. Results: At baseline, the expression level of NLRP3, AIM2 and IFI16 inflammasome genes were higher in comparison to controls (p < /em> = 0.018, 0.000 and 0.155 respectively). In addition, the level of serum IL-18 was up regulated in comparison to controls (p < /em> = 0.000). After treatment, there was a statically significant decrease in the expression level of NLRP3, AIM2 and IFI16 inflammasome genes (p < /em> < 0.0001 for all). Also, there was a statically significant down regulation in the level of serum IL-18 (p < /em> = 0.000). Conclusion: Direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy not only cause viral eradication but also has an immunological restitution effect as it decreases the expression level of NLRP3, AIM2 and IFI16 inflammasome genes and serum level of IL-18. This down regulation may decrease the risk of HCC development in chronic HCV infected patients

The data model of the Configuration Management Assistant

In an environment in which systems are configured by reusing existing subsystems, the determination of complete and consistent configurations is a non-trivial and error-prone task, although considerable information about the subsystems may already be available from previous configurations. The Configuration Management Assistant is a tool that supports tracking and exploiting such information in the difficult process of re-configuration on a large scale. Its data model was designed to be as independent as possible of configuration management policies and procedures and yet provide substantive assistance in this process. The most important elements of this data model are described in this paper

Constrained Probabilistic Continuous Review Inventory System with Mixture Shortage and Stochastic Lead Time Demand

This paper derives the probabilistic continuous review backorders and lost sales inventory system when the order cost is a function of the order quantity. Our objective is to minimize the expected annual total cost under a restriction on the expected annual holding cost when the lead time demand follows some continuous distributions by using the Lagrangian method. Some published special cases are deduced and an illustrative numerical example with some graphs is added