Real-time Communication Using WebRTC

This paper introduces a new Real-time Communication technology. Some of the technology’s applications could be in the education field, but are not limited only to education. The technology could be used with any system need, video and audio conferencing, such as medical uses or even online gaming. WebRTC is a free and open source project that provides web browsers and mobile applications with real-time communication (RTC) via a simple application programming interface (API). It allows video, audio and data to work inside a web page by allowing a direct peer to peer communication between two browsers, eliminating the need for a server or browser plugins or downloading a native application. The WebRTC project is supported by Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Opera, and it is being standardized through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). (Uberti, Justin; Thatcher, Peter, 2018)

Time-Cost Tradeoff and Resource-Scheduling Problems in Construction: A State-of-the-Art Review

Duration, cost, and resources are defined as constraints in projects. Consequently, Construction manager needs to balance between theses constraints to ensure that project objectives are met. Choosing the best alternative of each activity is one of the most significant problems in construction management to minimize project duration, project cost and also satisfies resources constraints as well as smoothing resources. Advanced computer technologies could empower construction engineers and project managers to make right, fast and applicable decisions based on accurate data that can be studied, optimized, and quantified with great accuracy. This article strives to find the recent improvements of resource-scheduling problems and time-cost trade off and the interacting between them which can be used in innovating new approaches in construction management. To achieve this goal, a state-of-the-art review, is conducted as a literature sample including articles implying three areas of research; time-cost trade off, constrained resources and unconstrained resources. A content analysis is made to clarify contributions and gaps of knowledge to help suggesting and specifying opportunities for future research

Zonal Energy Management and Optimization System (ZEMOS) for Smart Grid Applications

In the context of implementing the smart grid, electric energy consumption, generation resources, should be managed and optimized in a way that saves energy, improves efficiency, enhances reliability and maintains security while meeting the increasing demand at minimum operating cost. In order to achieve these objectives, there is a need to implement an efficient Zonal Energy Management and Optimization Systems (ZEMOS) that address both existing and future challenges possibly imposed by the use of renewable energy generators that lead to bi-directional power flow instead of unidirectional as in the traditional grids while operate in a coordinated way for the benefit of the whole electric grid. The proposed ZEMOS contains custom defined built-in functions in modular form, which could easily be integrated with other existing energy monitoring systems in the zone of interest (i.e. industrial facility, commercial centers, testing facility, sub-system of the utility service area, educational institutions, power plant, etc.). The proposed ZEMOS provides functions that ensure energy saving, improved reliability, increased efficiency and enhanced utilization of distributed resources: generation energy storage and loads without compromising the tasks carried within that zone. Those module-based systems are characterized by their scalability and flexibility, since more functions can be added down the road as needed. This is necessary in order to accommodate the constant changes imposed by the smart grid and avoid the need to change the whole infrastructure. The proposed ZEMOS performance was investigated for study zones that involve single and multi-objective operations. Besides, study zones with more than single decision makers were also considered in this thesis. Accordingly, the implementation of ZEMOS satisfies the outlined objectives for specific study zone which leads to a reduction in greenhouse gas emission, the improvement of the energy generation portfolio, a reliance on the optimized renewable energy source and a reduction in the energy losses while ensuring high power quality. Furthermore, managing the energy consumption and optimizing the operation of such sizable zones (at Mega Watts scale) ensures significant economic benefits in terms of energy saving, better utilization of available resources, improving the efficiency of energy systems, and exporting novel smart grid technologies, which will lay the foundation to meet future challenges using existing infrastructure

Field Study of the Noise Exposure Inside Running Metro Unit

The noise levels inside metro units are considered a significant problem that makes passengers suffer from severe damage, especially for those who use the metro periodically. This research evaluates the acoustic environment inside the metro car and studies factors affecting the noise levels inside metro units and developing models for estimate noise in the metro unit while moving between stations. Greater Cairo Metro (GCM) Line 1 has been selected as a case study. A sound level meter was used to measure the equivalent sound level in dBA and evaluate the noise inside metro units. The results indicate that the noise levels are unacceptable compared with the international noise exposure standards. The highest measured noise level inside metro units is 91.2 dBA. These unacceptable noise levels led to more investigation of factors that may affect noise levels inside metro units. Other data have been collected, such as the speed of the train and the track alignment details. The results showed that the noise increases with the increase of the train speed until the speed reaches a specific value, then it decreases depending on the maintenance status and the train type. In addition, the noise levels through curved underground tracks are higher than the levels along straight surface tracks by 18 dB(A). Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091674 Full Text: PD

Intestinal parasitic infections among the household staff working in Saudi family houses Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to detect and examine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among the household staff of Saudi families in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One hundred stool samples were collected from the household staff 34 female and 66 male. Stool samples were examined using the direct wet smear and the formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation technique. Stages of intestinal parasites were found in 15 samples (5 from male 10 from female participants). The most prevalent species found was Blastocystis hominis and Entamoeba histolytica. The highest rate of infection was seen in expatriates from Bangladesh. The present study reflects the importance of pre-employment medical check-up and regular investigation

Some Properties of Special Magnetic Curves

In the theory of curves, a magnetic field generates a magnetic flow whose trajectories are curves called magnetic curves. This paper aims at studying some properties for these curves which corresponding to the Killing magnetic fields in the 3-dimensional Euclidean space. We investigate the trajectories of the magnetic fields called $T$-magnetic and $e$-magnetic curves, also we give some characterizations of these curves. In addition, we determine all magnetic curves for new spherical images of a spherical curve and finally, we defray some examples to confirm our main results

Identification and Classification of Moving Vehicles on Road

It is important to know the road traffic density real time especially in cities for signal control and effective traffic management. In recent years, video monitoring and surveillance systems have been widely used in traffic management. Hence, traffic density estimation and vehicle classification can be achieved using video monitoring systems. The image sequences for traffic scenes are recorded by a stationary camera. The method is based on the establishment of correspondences between regions and vehicles, as the vehicles move through the image sequence. Background subtraction is used which improves the adaptive background mixture model and makes the system learn faster and more accurately, as well as adapt effectively to changing environments. The resulting system robustly identifies vehicles, rejecting background and tracks vehicles over a specific period of time. Once the (object) vehicle is tracked, the attributes of the vehicle like width, length, perimeter, area etc are extracted by image process feature extraction techniques. These features will be used in classification of vehicle as big or small using neural networks classification technique of data mining. In proposed system we use LABVIEW and Vision assistant module for image processing and feature extraction.  A feed-forward neural network is trained to classify vehicles using data mining WEKA toolbox. The system will solve major problems of human effort and errors in traffic monitoring and time consumption in conducting survey and analysis of data. The project will benefit to reduce cost of traffic monitoring system and complete automation of traffic monitoring system. Keywords: Image processing, Feature extraction, Segmentation, Threshold, Filter, Morphology, Blob, LABVIEW, NI, VI, Vision assistant, Data mining, Machine learning, Neural network, Back propagation, Multi layer perception, Classification, WEK

Investigation of the diagnostic importance and accuracy of CT in the chest compared to the RT-PCR test for suspected COVID-19 patients in Jordan [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

This article aims to synthesize the existing literature on the implementation of public policies to incentivize the development of treatments for rare diseases, (diseases with very low prevalence and therefore with low commercial interest) otherwise known as orphan drugs. The implementation of these incentives in the United States (US), Japan, and in the European Union (EU) seems to be related to a substantial increase in treatments for these diseases, and has influenced the way the pharmaceutical research & development (R&D) system operates beyond this policy area. Despite the success of the Orphan Drug model, the academic literature also highlights the negative implications that these public policies have on affordability and access to orphan drugs, as well as on the prioritization of certain disease rare areas over others. The synthesis focuses mostly on the United States’ Orphan Drug Act (ODA) as a model for subsequent policies in other regions and countries. It starts with a historical overview of the creation of the term “rare diseases”, continues with a summary of the evidence available on the US ODA’s positive and negative impacts, and provides a summary of the different proposals to reform these incentives in light of the negative outcomes described. Finally, it describes some key aspects of the Japanese and European policies, as well as some of the challenges captured in the literature related to their impact in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

Investigation of the diagnostic importance and accuracy of CT in the chest compared to the RT-PCR test for suspected COVID-19 patients in Jordan [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. The illness varies from mild to acute. Mild illness is treated even without hospitalization. RT-PCR is one of the main techniques, which are used to diagnose COVID-19, but in this paper, we have investigated that Chest CT is a more efficient alternative option to RT-Polymerase Chain Reaction. The purpose of our study is to diagnose the importance of chest CT in comparison to the RT-PCR test method for the patients who might have COVID-19 virus. The study will aid in contrasting the performance of chest CT method and RT-PCR method. Methods: This retrospective study included 1276 patients of the Jordanian hospitals' medical database that reception and following of suspected Covid-19 patients receiving high-resolution chest CT and real-time RT-PCR. Patients chosen underwent both chest CT and RT-PCR examinations, and the performance of chest CT in the diagnosis of COVID-19 evaluated, with maintaining the RT-PCR test as the reference standard. Results: The sensitivity and accuracy of chest CT in identifying COVID-19 were all higher in patients over 60 than in those under 60, with no difference in positive predictive values and negative predictive values. The accuracy in-patient under 60 is higher than over 60 patients. Males had a higher specificity of chest CT in the diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus than females, but there was no difference in sensitivity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, or accuracy. Conclusions: RT-PCR is considered as the great standard for the diagnosis of Covid-19. According to the findings of our study, the best alternative option to RT-PCR is chest CT scan. CT scan is the less sensitive method but faster than RT-PCR. In a clinical setting, a radiologist with adequate training can distinguish the virus COVID-19 from other viral-induced pneumonias

Clinicopathological Investigations Among Recurrent Camelpox Outbreaks in Omanis’ Arabian Camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Camelpox remains a widespread viral disease in camelids, with socioeconomic relevance. The present study explored the hematological, biochemical, and histopathological alterations in dromedary-racing camels from the North of Oman infected with camelpox virus diagnosed by real-time PCR. Blood and skin samples were collected from camels with clinical signs and skin lesions (n=4) and from healthy camels (n=3) from 10 different camel herds. The results indicated that the infected camels showed clinical signs, including pyrexia, lacrimation, nasal mucus discharge, affixed and swollen eyelids, emaciation, and pimples on the skin of the head, legs, and abdomen. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets were significantly greater, with a significant reduction in leukocyte and lymphocyte counts in infected camels than in healthy camels. Infected camels had higher CK and creatinine levels and hepatic-related metabolites, including AST, ALP, AST, GGT, and LDH, than the apparently healthy camels. Histopathological examination of skin scab samples revealed ballooning degeneration of epidermal cells in the presence of typical large eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies and suppurative dermatitis following secondary bacterial infection in all examined infected camels. Camelpox viral DNA was detected using real-time PCR in the blood and skin samples of all infected camels. These findings in dromedary-racing camels associated with a molecular diagnosis of camelpox are described for the first time in the Sultanate of Oman. Therefore, further studies are warranted