Container Handling Algorithms and Outbound Heavy Truck Movement Modeling for Seaport Container Transshipment Terminals

This research is divided into four main parts. The first part considers the basic block relocation problem (BRP) in which a set of shipping containers is retrieved using the minimum number of moves by a single gantry crane that handles cargo in the storage area in a container terminal. For this purpose a new algorithm called the look ahead algorithm has been created and tested. The look ahead algorithm is applicable under limited and unlimited stacking height conditions. The look ahead algorithm is compared to the existing algorithms in the literature. The experimental results show that the look ahead algorithm is more efficient than any other algorithm in the literature. The second part of this research considers an extension of the BRP called the block relocation problem with weights (BRP-W). The main goal is to minimize the total fuel consumption of the crane to retrieve all the containers in a bay and to minimize the movements of the heavy containers. The trolleying, hoisting, and lowering movements of the containers are explicitly considered in this part. The twelve parameters to quantify various preferences when moving individual containers are defined. Near-optimal values of the twelve parameters for different bay configurations are found using a genetic algorithm. The third part introduces a shipping cost model that can estimate the cost of shipping specific commodity groups using one freight transportation mode-trucking- from any origin to any destination inside the United States. The model can also be used to estimate general shipping costs for different economic sectors, with significant ramifications for public policy. The last part mimics heavy truck movements for shipping different kinds of containerized commodities between a container terminal and different facilities. The highly detailed cost model from part three is used to evaluate the effect of public policies on truckers\u27 route choices. In particular, the influence of time, distance, and tolls on truckers\u27 route selection is investigated.

The Reality of the Application of e-DMS in Governmental Institutions - an Empirical Study on the PPA

The research aims to identify the status of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions – the study was applied on the Palestinian Pension Agency. The population of this study is composed of all employees in the Palestinian Pension Agency. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers used the descriptive and analytical approach, through which try to describe the phenomenon of the subject of the study, analyze the data and the relationship between the components and the views put around it. Census method was used due to the small size of the study population and ease of access to the target group. (108) questionnaires were distributed to all members of the study population, were (65) employees in the Gaza Strip and (43) employees in the West Bank. All questionnaires were recovered. The study found the following results: There were no statistically significant differences in the members of the population in response to differences in the study about the reality of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions - case study on the Palestinian Pension Authority due to the age. There are no statistically significant differences in population members in response to the reality of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions - case Study on the Palestinian Pension Authority due to the variable nature of the job. As well as there are no statistically significant differences in the members of the population in response to the study about the reality of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions - case study on the Palestinian Pension Authority due to the variable of specialization. There are statistically significant differences in the study about the reality of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions - case study on the Palestinian Pension Authority due to Qualification variable for the benefit of members of the population study who are holding a Bachelor degree. There are statistically significant differences in the study about the reality of the application of electronic document management system in governmental institutions – case study on the Palestinian Pension Authority due to the variable number of years of experience for the benefit of members of the study population who have experience between 11-15 years. The study found a group of recommendations, including: the need to focus on the establishment of a general management of electronic documents in the organization structure that takes care of all the technical processes in it an contains scientifically qualified persons in the field of electronic document management. The need is for the attention in developing strategic plans, policies and mechanisms of action commensurate with the electronic document management system

An Analytical Study of the Reality of Electronic Documents and Electronic Archiving in the Management of Electronic Documents in the Palestinian Pension Agency (PPA)

The study aims to identify the reality of management of electronic documents and electronic archiving retirement in the Palestinian Pension Agency -analytical study, as well as to recognize the reality of the current document management system in the Palestinian Pension Agency. The study found the following results: that the reality of the current system for the management of documents in the agency is weak and suffers from many jams. Employee in the agency understand the importance and benefits of the management of electronic documents system, where the application of electronic document management system provide important features and benefits most of which reduce the loss of documents between departments, illustrates the flow path, the speed, accuracy, transparency, and reduce the proportion of damage and destruction of files. Furthermore, the electronic documents system cost will be less than the cost of the current system and it will reduce the tasks assigned for the staff. The existence of a clear adoption of the agency for the policies and procedures established for the application of electronic documents management system. There are weak plans for training and developing of staff in the agency to raise their efficiency. The study found a set of recommendations, including: increased interest and awareness of the need to implement policies, mechanisms, and procedures to ensure the success of electronic document management system through benefiting from the experiences of other organizations and the private sector. The agency need to increase and develop its services for retirees in order to encourage the private sector, universities, and institutions to join the agency, and open the way for all segments of society in Gaza and West Bank and enhance its competitiveness between international social security institutions. The need to focus its attention on developing and publishing appropriate clear plans and specific goals about management of electronic documents and the agency should be committed to apply them. The need to focus on the establishment of a public management of archiving in the structure dealing with all technical operations and having competent and qualified employees in the field of electronic document management. The need to focus on the Palestinian National Archives and the follow-up with the international standards by the International Council Archives (ICA)

Investigation of non-pharmaceutical cures for acute pancreatitis induced by cerulein in rats

Purpose: To investigate the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) alone or in  combination with α-lipoic acid (ALA) on cerulein induced acute pancreatitis (AP) in rats.Methods: AP was induced in 40 healthy male albino rats using a daily dose of cerulein (40 μg/kg) for three days. The rats were divided into four  groups: control, recovery (pancreatitis rats left without treatment), NAC (pancreatitis rats injected intraperitoneal (i.p.) with 25 mg NAC/kg daily) and NAC+ALA (pancreatitis rats treated with 25 mg NAC+100mg ALA/kg daily). The levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen242 (CA242), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interlukin-1β (IL-1β), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) as well as the enzyme activities (amylase, lipase and trypsinogen activation peptide) were determined after 2- and 4-weeks of treatment.Results: Treatment with NAC or NAC+ALA led to a marked decrease in the levels of tumor markers, inflammatory cytokines, enzymes activity, DNA and RNA. The best amelioration effect occurred in the NAC+ALA rats group.Conclusion: NAC induces a significant improvement in all studied  parameters. Incorporation of NAC and ALA results in preeminent effects and it is considered an ideal cure for acute pancreatitis.Keywords: Acute pancreatitis, Cerulein, N-acetylcysteine, α-Lipoic aci

The spectrum of phenotypes associated with mutations in steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1, NR5A1, Ad4BP) includes severe penoscrotal hypospadias in 46,XY males without adrenal insufficiency

OBJECTIVE. Hypospadias is a frequent congenital anomaly but in most cases an underlying cause is not found. Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1, NR5A1, Ad4BP) is a key regulator of human sex development and an increasing number of SF-1 (NR5A1) mutations are reported in 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD). We hypothesized that NR5A1 mutations could be identified in boys with hypospadias. DESIGN AND METHODS. Mutational analysis of NR5A1 in 60 individuals with varying degrees of hypospadias from the German DSD network. RESULTS. Heterozygous NR5A1 mutations were found in three out of 60 cases. These three individuals represented the most severe end of the spectrum studied as they presented with penoscrotal hypospadias, variable androgenization of the phallus and undescended testes (three out of 20 cases (15%) with this phenotype). Testosterone was low in all three patients and inhibin B/anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) were low in two patients. Two patients had a clear male gender assignment. Gender re-assignment to male occurred in the third case. Two patients harbored heterozygous nonsense mutations (p.Q107X/WT, p.E11X/WT). One patient had a heterozygous splice site mutation in intron 2 (c.103-3A/WT) predicted to disrupt the main DNA-binding motif. Functional studies of the nonsense mutants showed impaired transcriptional activation of an SF-1-responsive promoter (Cyp11a). To date, adrenal insufficiency has not occurred in any of the patients. CONCLUSIONS. SF-1 (NR5A1) mutations should be considered in 46,XY individuals with severe (penoscrotal) hypospadias, especially if undescended testes, low testosterone, or low inhibin B/AMH levels are present. SF-1 mutations in milder forms of idiopathic hypospadias are unlikely to be common

Evaluation of Seismic Analysis Procedures for Concrete Moment-Resistant Frames with Horizontal Re-entrant Corners Irregularity

Seismic design codes and standards such as the IBC 2012 and ASCE/SEI 7-10 allow using different seismic analysis procedures for buildings having horizontal re-entrant corner irregularity. However, such codes allow using Equivalent Lateral Force (ELF) procedure for buildings having re-entrant corner irregularity but not exceeding 50 m in height. The aim of this study is to quantify the limits on building height and on the percentage of re-entrant corner of building, where ELF procedure may not produce a reasonable results when compared to Response Spectrum (RS) and Response Time History (TH) procedures. Usually, these limits in seismic design standards are based on judgments and experience rather than quantification studies. Based on the results of this study, it is observed that using ELF method mostly overestimates maximum displacements and drift ratio. However, this method can be used safely up to 12-storey buildings, because the maximum underestimation of column shear forces for buildings with higher stories gives 30% less compared to other procedures. Moreover, it has been found that the maximum underestimation of column shear forces for buildings without re-entrant corner is 0% less than those with re-entrant corners. Furthermore, buildings analysed by ELF method are also exposed to have a higher percentage value of underestimation of column shear forces as the case of 12-story buildings with 40% less when compared to TH Procedure. In addition, the column at the re-entrant corner is not effectively affected until a re-entrant corner of 25% exists in buildings. Thus the ASCE/SEI 7-10’s limit for using ELF procedure for buildings with re-entrant corner irregularity may be increased from 15% to 25% with less conservative results

The Reality of the Employees Performance in the Palestinian Cellular Telecommunications Company (Jawwal)

The aim of this study was to identify the reality of the performance of the employees in The Palestinian Cellular Telecommunications Company (Jawwal), and to find the differences between the views of the study sample on the variables of the study according to the variables (age, scientific qualification, field of work and years of service). To achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire was designed and developed to measure the variables of the study applied to the company's 70 employees. The Complete Census method was used and 60 samples were recovered for analysis with a recovery rate (85.7%). The SPSS statistical package was adopted. The study reached several results, the most important of which is that the degree of approval for the job performance of the employees working in The Palestinian Cellular Telecommunications Company (Jawwal) is 81.56%. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of α≤ 0.05 between the average of the respondents' opinions on the performance of the workers in the Palestinian Cellular Telecommunications Company (Jawwal) due to the following variables (age, scientific qualification, field of work, number of years of service). The most important recommendations were to increase the efficiency of the employees of the company using the equipment of their work, and the need to pay attention to the development of the skills of employees through specialized training programs to improve their performance. And focus on moral incentives because of their role in improving the performance of employees by spreading the spirit of cooperation between

The Impact of the Dimensions of the Administrative Decision Support Systems on the Re-engineering of the Systems of the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip from the Employees’ Perspective

هدف البحث إلى التعرف على الأبعاد الإدارية لأنظمة مساندة القرارات، وأثرها فى إعادة هندسة النظم للجامعات الفلسطينية بقطاع غزة من وجهه نظر العاملين فيها، واستخدم البحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، واستخدم الباحث أسلوب الاستبانة لجمع البيانات، وقام الباحث باستخدام طريقة العينة الطبقية العشوائية، وتم توزيع (500)استبانة على عينة البحث، حيث تم استرداد (449) استبانة بنسبة استرداد (89.8%)، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى النتائج الآتية: وجود أثر للإمكانات (المادية، والبشرية، والفنية، والتنظيمية) المتاحة لأنظمة مساندة القرارات وإعادة هندسة النظم في مؤسسات التعليم العالي الفلسطينية بقطاع غزة. أنه توجد فروق بين متوسطات تقديرات عينة البحث حول تأثير أنظمة مساندة القرارات على إعادة هندسة النظم في مؤسسات التعليم العالي الفلسطينية بقطاع غزة تعزى لمتغير الجنس لصالح الذكور. ووجود فروق لمتغير اسم الجامعة وذلك لكل مجال من مجالات الدراسة لصالح الجامعة الإسلامية ثم جامعة الأزهر ثم جامعة الأقصى. وتوصلت الدراسة إلى مجموعة من التوصيات أهمها: تشجيع مؤسسات التعليم العالي الفلسطينية التي تخطط لإعادة هندسة النظم للبدء في تنفيذ برامجها في أقرب وقت ممكن. ضرورة أن تقوم مؤسسات التعليم العالي الفلسطينية بتطوير البنية التحتية لأنظمة مساندة القرارات عند إعادة هندسة عملياتها. الكلمات المفتاحية: أنظمة مساندة القرارات، إعادة الهندسة، مؤسسات التعليم العالي الفلسطينية.This study aimed to identify the impact of the dimensions of the administrative decision support systems on the re-engineering of the systems of the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip from the standpoint of employees. A descriptive approach was used through which a questionnaire was developed and distributed to a stratified random sample. (500) questionnaires were distributed and (449) were returned, with (89.8%) response rate. The study revealed these results: There was an effect for the potentials (physical, human, technical, and organizational design) available for the decision support systems and re-engineering of the systems in the Palestinian higher education institutions in Gaza Strip.There were significant differences between the assessment means of the study sample about the impact of decision support systems to re-engineer the systems in the Palestinian higher education institutions in Gaza Strip due to the gender variable in favor of males. There also differences due to the name of the university variable in favor of the Islamic University, Al Azhar University, Al Aqsa University, respectively. It was recommended that Palestinian higher education institutions which intend to start re-engineering the systems should be encouraged immediately start the process. These institutions should also develop the infrastructure of the decisions support systems when re-engineering their operations. Keywords: Decision support systems, Re-engineering, Palestinian higher education institutions

Low Incidence of Androgen Receptor Mutation Among Egyptian Children with Androgen Resistance

Introduction: In Egypt, disorders of sex development (DSD) constitute a significant entity among the birth defect list. Previous studies have reported that end organ androgen unresponsiveness, i.e. Androgen resistance, was the most prevalent underlying mechanism among Egyptian 46,XY DSD cases. Based on cytogenetic and hormonal diagnostic criteria as well as few sporadic case reports, it was proposed that androgen receptor (AR) defects [i.e. Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), OMIM#300068] might constitute a major etiology within this category. However, this has never been systematically ascertained through an AR molecular diagnostic approach. Aim of the Work: The current study aimed to assess the role of AR mutations as an underlying etiology among a sample of Egyptian 46,XY DSD pediatric patients presenting with androgen end organ unresponsiveness. Patients and Method: In the current study, 21 children [ag