Decision support system based on BWM for Analyzing success factors affecting the quality in the Iraqi construction projects

Creating a balance between cost, time, and quality in construction projects is always expected. It is possible to have a project with excellent quality and minimal cost, but at the expense of time, or vice versa. The goal of this paper is to discover, evaluate and prioritize the factors that most influence the desired construction projects' level of quality (success factors) in Iraq. Over a comprehensive review of literature, 11 potential quality-related factors were found to fall into the following five categories: client, contractor, design, materials, and project related factors. These factors' significance was determined using fuzzy Best Worst Method (BWM). Result shows the most three significant success factors influencing quality in the construction projects were related to contractor, client, and designer. These factors were financial competence of contractor, technical capability of client, and designer suitable selection with weights (30.84%, 15.58%, and 10.05%) respectively. These results conclude that maximization of the success factors will guarantee that the building sector achieves its quality objectives

Office Automation Techniques and their Impact on the Simplification of the Work Procedures: A Survey Study in the Supervisory and Scientific Evaluation

الغرض: معرفة تأثير اتمتة المكاتب في تبسيط اجراءات العمل في وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي/جهاز الاشراف والتقويم العلمي. المشكلة: توقع وجود قصور واضح  في عدم امتلاك المنظمة المبحوثة الى التقنيات الحديثة  التي من شأنها تعزيز الدقة والسرعة في العمل وتقليل حلقات العمل الزائدة (الروتين) للمنظمة المبحوثة مدار البحث. التصميم/ المنهجية/ المدخل: تمثلت الدراسة بالمتغير المستقل اتمتة المكاتب في حين تمثل المتغير المستجيب بتبسيط اجراءات العمل والتي عبر عنها مخطط وفرضيات الدراسة ولتحقيق هذا تمت معالجة المتغيرين انفي الذكر بتحليل البيانات المتعلقة بأبعاد الدراسة, كما اختيرت عينًة البحث القصدية والمكونة من (32) فرد, فيما استعمل الباحثين تطبيق (Microsoft Excel) والبرنامج (SPSS Ver.19) لغرض احتساب النسب المئوية والتكرارات والانحرافات المعيارية والأوساط الحسابية لكل أبعاد الدراسة، فضلاً عن اختبار فرضيات الدراسة فضلا عن استخدام التحيل الاحصائي الوصفي في ذلك. النتائج: توصلت الدراسة لمجموعة من الاستنتاجات من ابرزها وجود تأثيراً كبيراً لاتمتة المكاتب في تعزيز تبسيط اجراءات العمل.PURPOSE: To know the effect of office automation on streamlining work procedures in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research / Supervisory and Scientific Calendar. The problem: Expecting a clear deficiency in not having modern technologies that enhance accuracy and speed at work and reduce excess workloads (routines) for the research organization throughout the research. Design / Methodology / Entry: The study in the independent variable represents office automation and represents the respondent variable by simplifying the work procedures that are related to the study plan and assumptions.) For the purpose of calculating percentages, iterations, standard deviations and arithmetic mean for all dimensions of the study, as well as testing the study hypotheses as well as using descriptive statistical analysis in that. Results: The study reached a set of conclusions, the most prominent of which is the presence of an impact, and you have to automate offices in promoting simplification of work procedures

Prognostic factors of ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms treated with surgical clipping

Background: Spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage is an emergent condition that leads to profound morbidity and mortality. It is mainly caused by a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Herein we described the relationship of different factors and their impact on the outcome of patients who underwent a surgical clipping exclusively to the ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysm. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients admitted to the Neurosurgery Teaching Hospital (NTH) in Baghdad for the period between January 2017-April 2019 of patients who underwent microsurgical clipping for ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysm. Demographic, clinical, radiological and surgical data were extracted. A univariate analysis was used to illustrate the relationship between the variables and outcome which was assessed using the five scores of the Glasgow Outcome Scale where patients were dichotomized into two groups; favourable (IV + V) and unfavourable (I, II, III). Results: Within this cohort, a total of 50 patients were studied and the analysis revealed that 92% (N=46) had a favourable outcome and 8% (N=4) had an unfavourable outcome at discharge. The in-hospital mortality was 6%(N=3). Factors that were significantly associated with poor outcome were giant aneurysms, the presence of other unruptured aneurysms, post-operative clinical vasospasm, presence of contralateral weakness, lower pre/post-operative Glasgow coma scores, higher Hunt and Hess, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) and modified-WFNS grades. Conclusion:  The factors with a significant impact on the outcome of patients with surgically clipped ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms were GCS, WFNS, m-WFNS, H&H, contralateral muscle weakness, size of the aneurysm, presence of other unruptured aneurysms and clinical vasospasm

Image Retrieval Based on Chain Code Algorithm Using Color and Texture Features

The rapid growth of image retrieval has provided an efficient Content-Based Image Retrieval CBIR system to retrieve image accurately. In this paper, a precise retrieval result by exploiting color, texture and shape features is proposed. First, extract the features by color moment and (Hue, Saturation, Value HSV color space as a color feature, and then get the co-occurrence matrix as well as Discrete Wavelet Transform DWT for a texture feature. Chain codes algorithm, specifically chain code histogram, is then applied to obtain the codes of the shape feature. Second, collect all these features and store it in the database, where each record represents one image of the dataset. Similarity process is executed to find the images that are more similar to the query image, retrieved images ranked. The dataset applied in this study is WANG that includes 10 classes with each class containing 100 images. Experimental results have revealed that the proposed method outperformed the previous studies with an average of 0.824 in term of precisio

image retrieval based on chain code algorithm using color and texture features

The rapid growth of image retrieval has provided an efficient Content-Based Image Retrieval CBIR system to retrieve image accurately. In this paper, a precise retrieval result by exploiting color, texture and shape features is proposed. First, extract the features by color moment and (Hue, Saturation, Value HSV color space as a color feature, and then get the co-occurrence matrix as well as Discrete Wavelet Transform DWT for a texture feature. Chain codes algorithm, specifically chain code histogram, is then applied to obtain the codes of the shape feature. Second, collect all these features and store it in the database, where each record represents one image of the dataset. Similarity process is executed to find the images that are more similar to the query image, retrieved images ranked. The dataset applied in this study is WANG that includes 10 classes with each class containing 100 images. Experimental results have revealed that the proposed method outperformed the previous studies with an average of 0.824 in term of precisio

Tangential gunshot wound to the head: A case report with review of literature

Introduction. Tangential gunshot wounds (TGSW) to the head is the high-velocity bullet that does not penetrate the cranium but passes through the tissue adjoining the cranial cavity, creating a “gutter” wound and indirectly causing cerebral injury. This article presents a reporting case of TGSW to the head, discusses the mechanism underlying this traumatic injury and the possible complications resulting from it, and reviews of literature.  Case description. A thirteen-year-old schoolboy was admitted to the emergency department (ER) of the neurosurgery teaching hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, with a tangential gunshot to the head of an unknown source during civilian protests in Baghdad. In addition to a seizure attack in the ER, his Glasgow coma (GCS) scale was 13 initially. The computed tomography showed multiple bilateral brain contusions, interhemispheric haemorrhage, partially depressed fracture of the frontal bone midline, and a Paramedian to the left with a significantly depressed skull fracture. Then, an urgent decompressive craniectomy was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful, with rapid improvement in GCS of 15 one hour after surgery. On the six-month follow-up, the patient reported no further attacks of seizure. Conclusion. TGSWs are associated with good GCS and favourable prognosis in most cases unless the patient has been deteriorating or has an associated ICH. Moreover, in our case, the history taking, mechanism of the injury, rapid evolution, and radiological imaging have an essential effect on the outcome

Enlarged anterior communicating artery masquerading as intracranial aneurysm: Case report

Background. The anterior communicating artery (ACoA) complex consists of the ACoA, the pre-and post-communicating segments of the anterior cerebral artery, and the recurrent artery of Heubner. It is the most common site for anatomical variations in the circle of Willis. Such variations can mimic intracranial aneurysms. Case description. A 30-year-old female presented with recurrent episodes of extreme headache and bilateral tinnitus. A brain computed tomography (CT) scan showed no significant lesions, while her CT-angiography (CTA) showed an enlarged vascular lesion at the ACoA, raising the suspicion for an ACoA aneurysm. A repeated CTA revealed a rare anatomical variation with a pattern of cross dominance in the ACoA complex; the left A1 and right A2 were dominant-enlarged, resulting in an enlargement of the ACoA. The presence of an ACoA aneurysm was hence excluded and the patient was managed conservatively. At 6-month follow-up, CTA showed no new findings.  Conclusion. ACoA enlargement can result from unequal hemodynamics around the ACoA complex, which may be mistaken for an aneurysm. A thorough study of the imaging data is of pivotal importance and may change the management strategy

Assessment of multi-scenario rockfall hazard based on mechanical parameters using high-resolution airborne laser scanning data and GIS in a tropical area

Rockfall hazard is a main threat for mountainous and hilly areas that can cause loss of life, damage to infrastructures, and traffic interruption. Rockfall frequency and magnitude vary both spatially and temporally; therefore, multi-scenarios related to rockfall characteristics (trajectories, frequency and kinetic energy) can provide early warnings by identifying the areas at risk for mitigation purposes. The aim of this study is to predict the areas at risk from future rockfall incidents and suggest suitable mitigation measures to prevent them. The most significant elements in rockfall analysis are slope topography interpretation or the digital elevation model (DEM) and the rockfall modeling approach. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) techniques have been widely used in rockfall studies because of their capability to provide high-resolution information regarding slope surfaces. In the current study, airborne laser scanning (ALS) is used to obtain a high-density point cloud (4 pts./m2) of the study area for the construction of an accurate DEM via a geographic information system. Rockfall source areas were identified based on multi-criteria method including DEM derivatives (e.g., slope, aspect, curvature and topographic contrast) in addition to terrain type and aerial photos. A 3D rockfall model has been established to determine rockfall multi-scenarios based on their characteristics according to a range of restitution coefficient (normal and tangential) and friction angle values; these parameters are particularly crucial in rockfall simulation to delineate the spatial prediction of rockfall hazard areas along the Jelapang corridor of the North–South Expressway in Malaysia. In addition, a barrier location was suggested based on limited rockfall height and kinetic energy to mitigate rockfall hazards. Results show that rockfall trajectories (stopping distance) and, subsequently, their frequency and energy are increased; moreover, barrier efficiency is reduced when the values of the mechanical parameters (Rn, Rt, and friction angle) are increased. Nonetheless, the suggested barrier location is an efficient and mitigative measure to eliminate the rockfall effect