a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Background The eastern Mediterranean region is comprised of 22 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Since our Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010), the region has faced unrest as a result of revolutions, wars, and the so-called Arab uprisings. The objective of this study was to present the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the eastern Mediterranean region as of 2013. Methods GBD 2013 includes an annual assessment covering 188 countries from 1990 to 2013. The study covers 306 diseases and injuries, 1233 sequelae, and 79 risk factors. Our GBD 2013 analyses included the addition of new data through updated systematic reviews and through the contribution of unpublished data sources from collaborators, an updated version of modelling software, and several improvements in our methods. In this systematic analysis, we use data from GBD 2013 to analyse the burden of disease and injuries in the eastern Mediterranean region specifically. Findings The leading cause of death in the region in 2013 was ischaemic heart disease (90·3 deaths per 100 000 people), which increased by 17·2% since 1990. However, diarrhoeal diseases were the leading cause of death in Somalia (186·7 deaths per 100 000 people) in 2013, which decreased by 26·9% since 1990. The leading cause of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) was ischaemic heart disease for males and lower respiratory infection for females. High blood pressure was the leading risk factor for DALYs in 2013, with an increase of 83·3% since 1990. Risk factors for DALYs varied by country. In low-income countries, childhood wasting was the leading cause of DALYs in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, whereas unsafe sex was the leading cause in Djibouti. Non-communicable risk factors were the leading cause of DALYs in high-income and middle-income countries in the region. DALY risk factors varied by age, with child and maternal malnutrition affecting the younger age groups (aged 28 days to 4 years), whereas high bodyweight and systolic blood pressure affected older people (aged 60–80 years). The proportion of DALYs attributed to high body-mass index increased from 3·7% to 7·5% between 1990 and 2013. Burden of mental health problems and drug use increased. Most increases in DALYs, especially from non-communicable diseases, were due to population growth. The crises in Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria have resulted in a reduction in life expectancy; life expectancy in Syria would have been 5 years higher than that recorded for females and 6 years higher for males had the crisis not occurred. Interpretation Our study shows that the eastern Mediterranean region is going through a crucial health phase. The Arab uprisings and the wars that followed, coupled with ageing and population growth, will have a major impact on the region's health and resources. The region has historically seen improvements in life expectancy and other health indicators, even under stress. However, the current situation will cause deteriorating health conditions for many countries and for many years and will have an impact on the region and the rest of the world. Based on our findings, we call for increased investment in health in the region in addition to reducing the conflicts. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

New Insights on Avoiding the Causes of Projects Delays: A Framework

In this paper, we study and analyze the reasons behind the delay of some projects. Our aim is shed light on how one reduces the effect of the different obstacles and improves achievement either in quality or time. Different challenges play the main reasons in the stalled project including planning, designing, construction, and weak leaders or poor administrative decisions. We focus on developing a framework that helps in improving the management of the projects and finishing the projects on time. This includes developing a contingency plan and coordination mechanism between internal and external stakeholders. Following the steps of the methodology will help project managers to avoid project delay and solve the problems of the staled ones. Finally, we represent some managerial insights and recommendations that related parties should follow with the projects

Analyzing and evaluating the energy efficiency based on multi-5G small cells with a mm-waves in the next generation cellular networks

This paper evaluates the impact of multi-5G small cell systems on the energy efficiency (EE) in a Fifth Generation (5G) of cellular networks. Both the proposed model and the analysis of the EE in this study take into account (i) the path losses, fading, and shadowing that affect the received signal at the user equipment (UE) within the same cell, and (ii) the interference effects of adjacent cells. In addition, the concepts of new technologies such as large MIMO in millimeter range communication have also been considered. The simulation results show that the interference from adjacent cells can degrade the EE of a multi-cell cellular network. With the high interference the number of bits that will be transferred per joule of energy is 1.29 Mb/J with a 0.25 GHz bandwidth and 16 transmit antennas. While, with a 1 GHz bandwidth the transfer rate increases to 5.17 Mb/J. Whereas, with 64 transmit antennas the EE improved to 5.17 Mb/J with a 0.25 GHz BW and 20.70 Mb/J with a 1 GHz BW. These results provide insight into the impact of the number of antennas in millimeter range communication and the interference from adjacent cells on achieving real gains in the EE of multi-5G small cells cellular network

Machine Learning Algorithms for Smart Data Analysis in Internet of Things Environment: Taxonomies and Research Trends

Machine learning techniques will contribution towards making Internet of Things (IoT) symmetric applications among the most significant sources of new data in the future. In this context, network systems are endowed with the capacity to access varieties of experimental symmetric data across a plethora of network devices, study the data information, obtain knowledge, and make informed decisions based on the dataset at its disposal. This study is limited to supervised and unsupervised machine learning (ML) techniques, regarded as the bedrock of the IoT smart data analysis. This study includes reviews and discussions of substantial issues related to supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, highlighting the advantages and limitations of each algorithm, and discusses the research trends and recommendations for further study

Variation in morphology and branching pattern of superior mesenteric artery

The anatomical variations of superior mesenteric artery branches are common. In this study we reported an extraordinary morphology and branching of superior mesenteric artery, during our routine dissection of a 38-year-old Sudanese male cadaver, where the superior mesenteric artery forms an arch over the confluence of inferior vena cava and left renal vein. Other variations observed were: 1) The superior mesenteric artery shares the same origin of coeliac trunk; 2) The unusual origin of right hepatic artery. We think that the knowledge of these variations plays an important role in conducting and planning of radiological and surgical procedures especially in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. Morphology and branching patterns of this artery is anecdotic, which makes this case the most unique

Energy Efficiency and Coverage Trade-Off in 5G for Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Cellular Networks

Recently, cellular networks’ energy efficiency has garnered research interest from academia and industry because of its considerable economic and ecological effects in the near future. This study proposes an approach to cooperation between the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and next-generation wireless networks. The fifth-generation (5G) wireless network aims to negotiate a trade-off between wireless network performance (sustaining the demand for high speed packet rates during busy traffic periods) and energy efficiency (EE) by alternating 5G base stations’ (BSs) switching off/on based on the traffic instantaneous load condition and, at the same time, guaranteeing network coverage for mobile subscribers by the remaining active LTE BSs. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to determine the optimum criteria of the active LTE BSs (transmission power, total antenna gain, spectrum/channel bandwidth, and signal-to-interference-noise ratio) that achieves maximum coverage for the entire area during the switch-off session of 5G BSs. Simulation results indicate that the energy savings can reach 3.52 kW per day, with a maximum data rate of up to 22.4 Gbps at peak traffic hours and 80.64 Mbps during a 5G BS switched-off session along with guaranteed full coverage over the entire region by the remaining active LTE BSs

PREPARATION OF CHITOSAN-TPP NANOPARTICLES: THE INFLUENCE OF CHITOSAN POLYMERIC PROPERTIES AND FORMULATION VARIABLES

Objective: The aim of this work was to prepare chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinker and to study the effect of chitosan polymeric properties and experimental conditions on the properties and stability of NPs.Methods: CS NPs were prepared by ionic gelation method, using TPP as a crosslinker. The particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP) and the morphologies of the NPs were studied. CS NPs prepared by varying the concentration of TPP, Chitosan molecular weight and its degree of deacetylation, the stirring speed, the rate of TPP addition and the freeze-drying method to study the effect of these variables on the NPs. The stability of the CS NPs was evaluated by storing aqueous suspensions of NPs and comparing the PS, PDI and ZP at the beginning and the end of the experiment.Results: This study shows that the PS, ZP and dispersity of the NPs depend on the chitosan polymeric properties and experimental conditions. The NPs sizes range between 145.73 and 724.23 nm. They all carried positive charges ranging between+4.32 and+43.67 mV. Most of the NPs have the same sizes after freeze-drying, but showed higher monodispersity and ZP, indicating higher stability. After twenty days of studying the stability, the NPs that had low ZP showed a large increment in size in comparison to the highly charged NPs.Conclusion: In conclusion, the polymeric properties and formulation variables in the ionic gelation method have a great influence on the CS NPs formed