Effectiveness of a Wikis-Based Applied Linguistics Course on Learning Outcomes and Attitudes towards the Course

One of the most natural approaches to the problem of origins of natural languages is the study of hidden intelligent communications emanating from their historical forms Semitic languages history is especially meaningful in this sense One discovers in particular that Biblical Hebrew BH the best preserved fossil of the Semitic protolanguage is primarily a verbal language with an average verse of the Hebrew Bible containing no less than three verbs and with the biggest part of its vocabulary representing morphological derivations from verbal roots almost entirely triliteral the feature BH shares with all Semitic and a few other Afro- Asiatic languages For classical linguists more than hundred years ago it was surprising to discover that verbal system of BH is as we say today optimal from the Information Theory s point of view and that its formal topological morphology is semantically meaningful These and other basic features of BH reflect in our opinion the original design of the Semitic Protolanguage and suggest the indispensabilityof IIH Inspirational Intelligence Hypothesis our main topic for the understanding of origins of natural languages Our project is of vertical nature with respect to the time in difference with the vastly dominating today horizontal linguistic approache

Patient-specific 3D printed pulmonary artery model with simulation of peripheral pulmonary embolism for developing optimal computed tomography pulmonary angiography protocols

Background: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is the preferred imaging modality for diagnosis of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE). Radiation dose associated with CTPA has been significantly reduced due to the use of dose-reduction strategies, however, investigation of low-dose CTPA with use of different kVp and pitch values has not been systematically studied. The aim of this study was to utilize a 3D printed pulmonary model with simulation of small thrombus in the pulmonary arteries for development of optimal CTPA protocols. Methods: Animal blood clots were inserted into the pulmonary arteries to simulate peripheral embolism based on a realistic 3D printed pulmonary artery model. The 3D printed model was scanned with 192-slice 3rd generation dual-source CT with 1 mm slice thickness and 0.5 mm reconstruction interval. All images were reconstructed with advanced modelled iterative reconstruction (IR) at a strength level of 3. CTPA scanning parameters were as follows: 70, 80, 100 and 120 kVp, 0.9, 2.2 and 3.2 pitch values. Quantitative assessment of image quality was determined by measuring signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in both main pulmonary arteries, while qualitative analysis of images was scored by two experienced radiologists (score of 1 indicates poor visualization of thrombus with no confidence, and score of 5 excellent visualization of thrombus with high confidence) to determine the image quality in relation to different scanning protocols for detection of thrombus in the pulmonary arteries. Results: No significant differences were found in SNR measurements among all CTPA protocols (P>0.05), regardless of kVp or pitch values used, although SNR was higher with 120 kVp and 0.9 and 2.2 pitch protocols than that in other protocols. The thrombi were detected in all images, with 70 kVp and 3.2 pitch protocol scored the lowest with a score of 3 by two observers, and images with other protocols were scored 4 or 5. Lowering kVp from 120 to 70 with use of high-pitch 2.2 or 3.2 protocol resulted in up to 80% dose reduction without significantly affecting image quality. Conclusions: Low-dose CT pulmonary angiography protocols comprising 70 kVp and high pitch 2.2 or 3.2 allow for detection of peripheral PE with significant reduction in radiation dose while images are still considered diagnostic

Sources of Stress among Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Preliminary Investigation in Saudi Arabia

This study identified differences in sources of stress between parents of male children with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia. Seventeen pairs of parents completed the Parent Stress Index (Abidin, 1995). Each pair of parents had a male child diagnosed with intellectual disability who either attended an institute for male children with intellectual disability or a special education classroom attached to a public elementary general school in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Results indicated higher perceived stress levels in Saudi mothers compared to fathers regarding the overall parent-child relationship, the child’s individual characteristics, and the parent’s characteristics. Implications provide research-based data for stakeholders in the development of appropriate and effective programs for parents of children with intellectual disabilities, especially for mothers. These data will inform professionals in Saudi Arabia of needed services for parents of children with intellectual disabilities and potentially encourage further study of families of children with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia

Delay Optimal Event Detection on Ad Hoc Wireless Sensor Networks

We consider a small extent sensor network for event detection, in which nodes take samples periodically and then contend over a {\em random access network} to transmit their measurement packets to the fusion center. We consider two procedures at the fusion center to process the measurements. The Bayesian setting is assumed; i.e., the fusion center has a prior distribution on the change time. In the first procedure, the decision algorithm at the fusion center is \emph{network-oblivious} and makes a decision only when a complete vector of measurements taken at a sampling instant is available. In the second procedure, the decision algorithm at the fusion center is \emph{network-aware} and processes measurements as they arrive, but in a time causal order. In this case, the decision statistic depends on the network delays as well, whereas in the network-oblivious case, the decision statistic does not depend on the network delays. This yields a Bayesian change detection problem with a tradeoff between the random network delay and the decision delay; a higher sampling rate reduces the decision delay but increases the random access delay. Under periodic sampling, in the network--oblivious case, the structure of the optimal stopping rule is the same as that without the network, and the optimal change detection delay decouples into the network delay and the optimal decision delay without the network. In the network--aware case, the optimal stopping problem is analysed as a partially observable Markov decision process, in which the states of the queues and delays in the network need to be maintained. A sufficient statistic for decision is found to be the network-state and the posterior probability of change having occurred given the measurements received and the state of the network. The optimal regimes are studied using simulation.Comment: To appear in ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks. A part of this work was presented in IEEE SECON 2006, and Allerton 201

The effect of business process reengineering on organizational performance moderated by information technology capability in Riyadh

Business process reengineering has attracted much attention recently as an alternative technique of earnings management that may affect organizational performance. This study examines the effect of Business Process Reengineering on Organizational Performance Moderated by Information Technology Capability in Riyadh, a city that a city that attention is given to the role of investment. Data are from 164 managers, Random- effects regression was used for testing the hypotheses. The result shows a significant relationship between Business Process Reengineering factors and Organizational performance, and factor of BPR in Private organization in Riyadh. The findings indicate that change management, customer focus, financial resource, project management, management commitment and IT infrastructure do not constrain organizational performance. Some of the factors of business Process Reengineering is negatively and significantly associated with organizational performance, However, suggesting that different factors have different effect on organizational performance. Finally, the study reveals that project management and management commitment do not interact with organizational performance. The results are robust under various additional analyses and model estimations and have implications for investors, directors of companies, and other markets

A Secure Cloud Computing Model based on Data Classification

AbstractIn cloud computing systems, the data is stored on remote servers accessed through the internet. The increasing volume of personal and vital data, brings up more focus on storing the data securely. Data can include financial transactions, important documents, and multimedia contents. Implementing cloud computing services may reduce local storage reliance in addition to reducing operational and maintenance costs. However, users still have major security and privacy concerns about their outsourced data because of possible unauthorized access within the service providers. The existing solutions encrypt all data using the same key size without taking into consideration the confidentiality level of data which in turn will increase the cost and processing time. In this research, we propose a secure cloud computing model based on data classification. The proposed cloud model minimizes the overhead and processing time needed to secure data through using different security mechanisms with variable key sizes to provide the appropriate confidentiality level required for the data. The proposed model was tested with different encryption algorithms, and the simulation results showed the reliability and efficiency of the proposed framework

Double low-dose computed tomography pulmonary angiography in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of double low-dose (low radiation and low contrast medium doses) computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. This retrospective study involved analysis of 59 patients undergoing 64- and 128-slice CTPA examinations which were scanned with a pitch of 0.9 and 100 and 120 kVp, respectively, while flash mode of CTPA was done with a pitch of 3.2 and 120 kVp. There were no significant differences in image quality assessment between the low kVp and standard kVp or high-pitch CTPA protocols (p=0.181-0.186). The mean effective dose for the 100 kVp protocol was significantly lower than that for the120 kVp and the flash mode protocols (p<0.001). The contrast medium was between 35-45 ml for the 100 and 120 kVp protocols, and 20-30 ml for the 120 kVp flash mode protocol. Double low-dose CT pulmonary angiography is feasible for detection of pulmonary embolism with acquisition of diagnostic images