Stakeholder identification in the requirements engineering process

Adequate, timely and effective consultation of relevant stakeholders is of paramount importance in the requirements engineering process. However, the thorny issue of making sure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted has received less attention than other areas which depend on it, such as scenario-based requirements, involving users in development, negotiating between different viewpoints and so on. The literature suggests examples of stakeholders, and categories of stakeholder, but does not provide help in identifying stakeholders for a specific system. In this paper, we discuss current work in stakeholder identification, propose an approach to identifying relevant stakeholders for a specific system, and propose future directions for the work

Change of size and type of patent ductus arteriosus in a one year old infant during routine echocardiographic study

There are only very few publications which document reactivity of patent ductus arteriosus. This report documentes the reactivity of a patent arterial duct in a one year old infant, 6.5 kg weight during a routine echocardiographic color Doppler study. Echocardiographic images were obtained during conscious sedation.peer-reviewe

Religion, environmental ethics and global climate change

In the past two decades, the global environment and community worldwide has reached great compromise that human activities for government earning more economically are causing changes to the global climate. Increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4)' sulphur dioxide (SO2) and other greenhouse gases in the last century have raised temperatures around the planet, as diminishing glaciers, melting icecaps, and record-breaking heat waves support evidence. Records show that surface temperatures have risen about lAO F (0.7 0c) since the early twentieth centuty, and that about 0.9 OF (0.5 0c) of this increase has occurred since 1978. There were some observed changes in oceans, ecosystems, and ice cover are consistent with this warming trend. Unless of course,the mission, vision and ethics are strategies, average global temperatures will probably increase by several degrees Celsius in the next few years, with disastrous environmental consequences: desertification, flood of low-lying coastal areas, an increase in powerful hurricanes, decreased agricultural productivity, and loss of biodiversity. Although there remain some scientific uncertainties and disagreements about the extent of expected temperature increases, the magnitude of the environmental impacts, and how to mitigate global warming, there is now believe that humanity plays a significant role in changing the climate

Optimal Sizing of Fixed Capacitor Banks Placed on a Distorted Interconnected Distribution Networks by Genetic Algorithms

In this paper, the optimal sizing of fixed capacitor banks problem in a distorted interconnected distribution system is formulated and solved by a Genetic Algorithm (GA) solution technique to minimize the cost of power production and capacitor banks under the constraints include voltage limits , sizes of installed capacitors and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), the algorithm is applied on IEEE 30-bus test system and the results are given for different cases: Light and heavy harmonic cases. Computer simulation shows that the harmonic components affect the optimal capacitor sizing

Burnout among Emergency Nurses during COVID-19 Pandemic at Hail Governmental Hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Nurses’ burnout is an extended response to stressors at work, which leads to a negative self-concept and reduces the professional outcome. This study aimed to evaluate the level of burnout among emergency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2021 to December 2021. A total of 77 emergency nurses from King Khalid hospital 42 (54.5%), and King Salman Specialist hospital 35 (45.5%) in Hail city of Saudi Arabia, were selected using a convenient sampling method and included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire consisted of the socio-demographics data sheet, and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) tool to evaluate nurses’ burnout. RESULTS: The overall rate of burnout among the studied nurses was moderate, with mean scores of 39±10. The highest rate was for personal burnout with mean scores of 41.4±16.5, while the lowest score was for client-related burnout with mean scores of 37.8±10.5. The total burnout mean scores for all dimensions of CBI are higher in divorced (46.7), older age (44.5), nursing technicians (43.4), low years of experience (42.5), lower educational level (41.9), non-Saudi (41.0), and males (40.5). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of burnout among nurses in government hospitals in Hail city was moderate, which should be considered. No statistically significant association were found between socio-demographic variables and the mean scores of CBI. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the factors associated with the occurrence of burnout, provide a training program to reduce it, and improve the mental and physical health of the emergency nurses

Performance Evaluation of IFAS System Using Honeycomb PVC Media

Recently, Egypt is facing serious problems caused by the deterioration of effluent quality of many wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) especially in rural areas. Unexpected rapid increase in population associated with the increase of organic loading are the main factors causing the failure in operation for many WWTPs. Absence of periodic maintenance and lack of operators’ experience in these rural areas make the situation worse. Many WWTP are recently under rehabilitation and upgrading for the above reasons, however decision makers are facing a real challenge due to the space-limit in many cases. The integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) system has recently proved to be an effective choice to expand the WWTP capacity for growing communities, enhance nitrogen removal and comply with more stringent effluent limits with small footprint. In this research, an IFAS pilot-scale reactor is constructed to optimize its application in upgrading conventional activated sludge (CAS) plants. The effect of carrier position, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR) on the biological treatment efficiency and nutrient removal compared to CAS process are studied. IFAS configurations with no media, vertical position and cross flow media position are tested with 4, 8 and 12 hours retention times and organic loading rates of 0.84 and 1.44 Kg COD/m3.day. Keywords: Integrated fixed film IFAS, biological nitrogen removal, honeycomb PVC media DOI: 10.7176/CER/11-2-06 Publication date:March 31st 2019

CLOVE OR GREEN TEA ADMINISTRATION ANTAGONIZES KHAT HEPATOTOXICITY IN RATS

Objective: Khat consumption has become a common problem that affects the health aspects of life in Yemen and other parts in the world. The liver has been suspected to be particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of khat use and until now khat hepatotoxicity effects are still controversial. This study was conducted to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of aqueous extracts of clove and green tea, as medicinal herbs with established antioxidant properties, against controversial hepatotoxicity effects of khat in rats. Methods: Rats received a daily oral dose of khat extract alone or in combination with green tea or clove extract for six weeks. To study the effects on liver cells, histopathology, routine liver function tests, malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes were investigated. Results: Khat administration showed marked liver injury; congestion in the portal vein with fibrous tissue proliferation, extended from the portal area and forming intralobular Porto-portal bridging fibrous septae. Besides significant routine liver function tests alterations, lipid peroxides elevation, and TAC reduction with significant inhibition of SOD and CAT activities. Conclusion: Combined administration of khat with clove or green tea protected hepatocytes via oxidative stress inhibition. They significantly counteracted the alterations in liver function tests, decreased lipid peroxidation and restored the antioxidant status to near normal levels. These results confirm khat hepatotoxicity and suggest that clove or green tea administration has strong hepatoprotective effects against khat induced hepatotoxicity in rats via antioxidant mediated mechanism.Â