Antidote Stocking at Hospitals in North Palestine

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the availability and adequacy of antidote stocking at hospitals in north Palestine based on published guidelines for antidote stocking. Methodology: This study is a cross sectional survey of all hospitals at north Palestine (n=11) using a questionnaire which was completed by the director of the pharmacy department at each hospital. The questionnaire was divided into 2 parts. The first part contained a list of 25 antidotes while the second part contained a list of 12 antidotes. This classification is based on the guideline proposed by the British Association for Emergency Medicine (BAEM). The net antidote stock results were compared with the American guidelines as well. Result: The overall availability of each antidote in the first list varied widely from zero for glucagon to 100% for atropine. The number antidotes of the first list that were stocked in the 11 hospitals ranged from 5 to 12 antidotes but none of the hospitals stocked all the 25 antidotes. Additionally, availability of antidotes in the second list varied widely from zero for polyethylene glycol to 100% for dobutamine. The number of antidotes stocked ranged from 5 to 9 but none of the hospitals stocked all the 12 antidotes. Discussion and Conclusion: hospitals in north Palestine do not have adequate stock of antidotes. Raising awareness of the importance of antidotes by education, regular review of antidote storage, distribution plans, and appropriate legislation might provide solutions. Coordination between Palestinian hospitals and the PCDIC at An-Najah National University is also important

Robotic 3D printing with earth: A case study for optimisation of 3D printing building blocks

The interest in 3D printed earthen buildings in developed countries has increased due to the demand for healthy, comfortable and sustainable buildings constructed with low carbon materials and laboursaving methods. However, the amount of research about this field is still limited. Our research aims to contribute to this field by optimising the robotic 3D printing process by investigating issues such as buckling while printing, adequate soil mix recipe for printing, print and extrusion speed calibration. This paper illustrates the process and the results of the temporary research project and the Robotic Cob Printing Workshop with MSc Computational Methods in Architecture (CMA) students at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, in March 2022. The project aims to achieve structural stability with less material by using the geometry and the infill of the building block while exploring the role of computational design, robotic extrusion and material understanding in robotic 3D printing with earth as a low-carbon novel building method

Estimation de la température de l'eau de rivière en utilisant les réseaux de neurones et la régression linéaire multiple

La température de l'eau en rivière est un paramètre ayant une importance majeure pour la vie aquatique. Les séries temporelles décrivant ce paramètre thermique existent, mais elles sont moins nombreuses et souvent courtes, ou comptent parfois des valeurs manquantes. Cette étude présente la modélisation de la température de l'eau en utilisant des réseaux de neurones et la régression linéaire multiple pour relier la température de l'eau à celle de l'air et le débit du ruisseau Catamaran, situé au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada. Une recherche multidisciplinaire à long terme se déroule présentement sur ce site. Les données utilisées sont de 1991 à 2000 et comprennent la température de l'air de la journée en cours, de la veille et de l'avant-veille, le débit ainsi que le temps transformé en série trigonométrique. Les données de 1991 à 1995 ont été utilisées pour l'entraînement ou la calibration du modèle tandis que les données de 1996 à 2000 ont été utilisées pour la validation du modèle. Les coefficients de détermination obtenus pour l'entraînement sont de 94,2 % pour les réseaux de neurones et de 92,6 % pour la régression linéaire multiple, ce qui donne un écart-type des erreurs de 1,01 C pour les réseaux de neurones et de 1,05 C pour la régression linéaire multiple. Pour la validation, les coefficients de détermination sont de 92,2 % pour les réseaux de neurones et de 91,6 % pour la régression linéaire multiple, ce qui se traduit en un écart-type des erreurs de 1,10 C pour les réseaux de neurones et de 1,25 C pour la régression linéaire multiple. Durant la période d'étude (1991-2000), le biais a été calculé à +0,11 C pour le modèle de réseaux de neurones et à -0,26 °C pour le modèle de régression. Ces résultats permettent de conclure qu'il est possible de prévoir la température de l'eau de petits cours d'eau en utilisant la température de l'air et le débit, aussi bien avec les réseaux de neurones qu'avec la régression linéaire multiple. Les réseaux de neurones semblent donner un ajustement aux données légèrement meilleur que celui offert par la régression linéaire multiple, toutefois ces deux approches de modélisation démontrent une bonne performance pour la prédiction de la température de l'eau en rivière.Water temperature is a parameter of great importance for water resources. For instance, modifications of the thermal regime of a river can have a significant impact on fish habitat. Therefore, understanding and predicting water temperatures is essential in order to help prevent or forecast high temperature problems. In order to predict water temperatures, data series are necessary. Many data series exist for air temperatures, but water temperature series are relatively scarce and those available are often short or have missing values. This study presents the modelling of water temperature using neural networks and multiple linear regression to relate water temperature to air temperature and discharge in Catamaran Brook, New Brunswick, Canada.Catamaran Brook is a small stream (51 km2) where long-term multidisciplinary habitat research is being carried out. Many variables can impact water temperatures in a river, such as air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, discharge, groundwater flow, etc. For this study, only air temperature and discharge were used. These were judged to be the most often available parameters for modelling temperatures in rivers, and to have the greatest impact on water temperature. More precisely, input variables included current air temperature (°C), air temperature of the previous day (°C), air temperature two days earlier (°C), discharge (m3 /s) and a trigonometric function of time (days). Data used for the analysis were from 1991 to 2000. Data from 1991 to 1995 were used to calibrate the model while data from 1996 to 2000 were used for validation purposes. Observed and predicted water temperatures for each model were presented for the calibration data and the validation data. The coefficient of determination, R2, was used to compare the efficiency of both models as well as the residual standard deviation and the bias. This is equivalent to basing the comparison on the standard deviation (or variance) of the residuals. Coefficients of determination for calibration were 94.2% for the neural networks and 92.6% for the multiple linear regression, which correspond to a residual standard deviation of 1.01°C for the neural networks and of 1.05°C for the multiple linear regression. For validation, coefficients of determination were 92.2% for the neural networks and 91.6% for the multiple linear regression, which correspond to a residual standard deviation of 1.10°C for the neural networks, and of 1.25°C for the multiple regression. The overall bias during the study period (1991-2000) was calculated at +0.11°C for the neural network model and at -0.26°C for the regression model. Results indicated that it was possible to predict water temperature for a small stream using air temperature, flow and time, as input variables, with neural networks and multiple linear regression. The residual series obtained by both models were very similar. Of the two models, neural networks gave slightly better results in terms of fit, but the small difference in results lets us believe that both approaches are equally good in predicting stream water temperatures

Global cocaine intoxication research trends during 1975–2015: a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science publications

Density view of terms map based on the co-occurrence matrix of terms from text data in the title and abstract of retrieved publications related to cocaine toxicity by periods. Figure S1. Density view of terms map in Period I (1975–1995); colors show the density of relevance, sorting from blue (lowest density) to red (highest density). (number of publications related to cocaine intoxication = 954). Figure S2. Density view of terms map in Period II (1996–2005); colors show the density of relevance, sorting from blue (lowest density) to red (highest density). (Number of publications related to cocaine intoxication = 987). Figure S3. Density view of terms map in Period III (2006–2015); colors show the density of relevance, sorting from blue (lowest density) to red (highest density). (Number of publications related to cocaine intoxication = 961). Figure S4. Density view of terms map in Period 1975–1995; colors show the density of relevance, sorting from blue (lowest density) to red (highest density). (Number of publications related to cocaine intoxication = 2,902). (DOCX 794 kb

Bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: research activity in Arab countries

BACKGROUND: Chronic respiratory diseases, like bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a worldwide health problem. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of asthma and COPD-related research from Arab countries has not been explored and there are few internationally published reports on such field. The main objectives of this study were to analyze research output originating from Arab countries in the field of bronchial asthma and COPD. METHODS: Original scientific articles or reviews published from the 22 Arab countries were screened using specific words pertaining to asthma and COPD using Scopus database and search engine. Research productivity was evaluated based on: (a) total and trends of contribution of each Arab country to asthma and COPD research and (b) journals in which researchers from Arab countries published their research. RESULTS: The total number of original research and review articles published globally about bronchial asthma and COPD was 163,964. The leading country in bronchial asthma and COPD research was United States of America (38,632; 23.56%). Worldwide, Turkey ranked 19th while Israel and Iran ranked 25th and 29th respectively. Among Arab countries, Egypt and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came on positions 39th and 43rd, respectively. A total of 1,304 documents about bronchial asthma and COPD were published from Arab countries which represents 0.8% of the global research output. Research in bronchial asthma was almost double that in COPD. Research from Arab countries was low and showed a significant increase after 2000. Approximately 12% of research activity in asthma and COPD from Arab countries was published in Saudi Medical Journal, Annals of Saudi Medicine, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal and Tunisie Medicale. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a total publication of 353 (27.07%) ranked first among the Arab countries while University of Kuwait was the most productive institution with a total of 123 (9.43%) documents. CONCLUSIONS: The present data showed relatively low research productivity about bronchial asthma and COPD in Arab countries. Research output can be improved by investing more in international and national collaborative research projects in the field of asthma and COPD

Osteoporosis is a neglected health priority in Arab World: a comparative bibliometric analysis

Osteoporosis is an important health problem with serious consequences. Evaluation of osteoporosis scientific output from Arab countries has not been explored and there are few internationally published reports on research activity about osteoporosis. The main objectives of this study were to analyze the research output originating from Arab countries and 3 Middle Eastern non-Arab countries, particularly Israel, Turkey and Iran in the field of osteoporosis. Original scientific articles or reviews published from the 21 Arab countries, Israel, Turkey and Iran about “osteoporosis” were screened using the ISI Web of Science database. The time frame for the result was up to year 2012. The total number of original and review research articles published globally about osteoporosis was 43,571. The leading country in osteoporosis research was United States of America (14,734; 33.82%). Worldwide, Turkey ranked 16th while Israel and Iran ranked 24th and 31st respectively. Among Arab countries, Egypt and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came on positions 41 and 45 respectively. A total of 426 documents about “osteoporosis” were published from Arab countries which represents 0.98% of the global research output. Research about osteoporosis from Arab countries was very low until 2002 and then increased steadily. The total number of citations for osteoporosis documents from the Arab world was 5551 with an average citation of 13.03 per document and an h- index of 35. Thirty (7.04%) documents published from Arab countries about osteoporosis were published in Saudi Medical Journal. Egypt, with a total publication of 117 (27.47%) ranked first among the Arab countries in research about osteoporosis while American University in Beirut was the most productive institution with a total of 47 (11.03%) documents. Compared with other non-Arab countries in the Middle East, the research productivity from the Arab countries was lesser than that from Turkey and Israel but higher than that from Iran. The present data showed low research productivity in osteoporosis field in Arab countries. Research output can be improved by investing in more international and national collaborative research projects in the field of osteoporosis

Sleep habits and sleep problems among Palestinian students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The aim of this study was to describe sleep habits and sleep problems in a population of undergraduates in Palestine. Association between self-reported sleep quality and self-reported academic achievement was also investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sleep habits and problems were investigated using a convenience sample of students from An-Najah National University, Palestine. The study was carried out during spring semester, 2009. A self-administered questionnaire developed based on The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>400 students with a mean age of 20.2 ± 1.3 were studied. Reported mean duration of night sleep in the study sample was 6.4 ± 1.1 hours. The majority (58.3%) of students went to bed before midnight and 18% of the total sample woke up before 6 am. Sleep latency of more than one hour was present in 19.3% of the students. Two thirds (64.8%) of the students reported having at least one nocturnal awakening per night. Nightmares were the most common parasomnia reported by students. Daytime naps were common and reported in 74.5% of the study sample. Sleep quality was reported as "poor" in only 9.8% and was significantly associated with sleep latency, frequency of nocturnal awakenings, time of going to bed, nightmares but not with academic achievement.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Sleep habits among Palestinian undergraduates were comparable to those reported in European studies. Sleep problems were common and there was no significant association between sleep quality and academic achievement.</p

The effect of reducing geometry complexity on energy simulation results

Accuracy and time are metrics inherently associated with the design process and the energy performance simulation of buildings. The accurate representation of the building is an essential requirement for energy analysis, which comes with the expense of time; however, this is in contrast with the need to minimise the simulation time in order to make it compatible with design times. This is a particularly interesting aspect in the case of complex geometries, which are often simplified for use in building energy performance simulation. The effects of this simplification on the accuracy of simulation results are not usually reported. This paper explored these effects through a systematic analysis of several test cases. The results indicate that the use of orthogonal prisms as simplified surrogates for buildings with complex shapes presents a worst-case scenario that should be avoided where possible. A significant reduction of geometry complexity by at least 50% can also be achieved with negligible effects on simulation results, while minimising the time requirements. Accuracy, however, deteriorates rapidly below a critical threshold

Design and performance evaluation of bitwise retransmission schemes in wireless sensor networks

The previously proposed bitwise retransmission schemes which retransmit only selected bits to accumulate their reliability are designed and evaluated. Unlike conventional automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes, the bitwise retransmission schemes do not require a checksum for error detection. The bitwise retransmission decisions and combining can be performed either after demodulation of the received symbols or after channel decoding. The design and analysis assume error-free feedback, however, the impact of feedback errors is also considered. The bit-error rate (BER) expressions are derived and verified by computer simulations in order to optimize the parameters of the retransmission schemes. The BER performance of coded and uncoded bitwise retransmissions is compared with a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) scheme over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), slow fading, and fast fading channels. It is shown that bitwise retransmissions outperform block repetition coding (BRC) over AWGN channels. In addition, the selection diversity created by the bitwise retransmissions can outperform the HARQ at large signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over fast fading channels. Finally, the practical design of a bitwise retransmission protocol for data fusion in wireless sensor networks is presented assuming Zigbee, WiFi and Bluetooth system parameters

The Arab world's contribution to solid waste literature: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND: Environmental and health-related effects of solid waste material are considered worldwide problems. The aim of this study was to assess the volume and impact of Arab scientific output published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) on solid waste. METHODS: We included all the documents within the SCI whose topic was solid waste from all previous years up to 31 December 2012. In this bibliometric analysis we sought to evaluate research that originated from Arab countries in the field of solid waste, as well as its relative growth rate, collaborative measures, productivity at the institutional level, and the most prolific journals. RESULTS: A total of 382 (2.35 % of the overall global research output in the field of solid waste) documents were retrieved from the Arab countries. The annual number of documents published in the past three decades (1982–2012) indicated that research productivity demonstrated a noticeable rise during the last decade. The highest number of articles associated with solid waste was that of Egypt (22.8 %), followed by Tunisia (19.6), and Jordan (13.4 %). the total number of citations over the analysed years at the date of data collection was 4,097, with an average of 10.7 citations per document. The h-index of the citing articles was 31. Environmental science was the most researched topic, represented by 175 (45.8 %) articles. Waste Management was the top active journal. The study recognized 139 (36.4 %) documents from collaborations with 25 non-Arab countries. Arab authors mainly collaborated with countries in Europe (22.5 %), especially France, followed by countries in the Americas (9.4 %), especially the USA. The most productive institution was the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, with 6.3 % of total publications. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the expected increase in solid waste production from Arab world, research activity about solid waste is still low. Governments must invest more in solid waste research to avoid future unexpected problems. Finally, since solid waste is a multidisciplinary science, research teams in engineering, health, toxicology, environment, geology and others must be formulated to produce research in solid waste from different scientific aspects