Lecturers’ Perceptions and Satisfaction of Employing Electronic Learning Tools at the Arab Universities During COVID-19

This study aimed to identify the trends of faculty members in Arab universities toward the use of electronic learning tools in the context of the Corona pandemic. To achieve the study objectives, the questionnaire was the main instrument for collecting study data. The study was applied to a sample consisting of (82) faculty members at Altaif University, Irbid Alahlia University and Middle East University, who were selected randomly. The results revealed that attitudes and satisfaction of faculty members in Arab universities toward the use of e-learning tools in light of the Corona pandemic were medium. Also, the results showed that there are no significant impact of gender, academic ranking and experience but there is a significant impact of the university according to the point of view of faculty members on the use of e-learning tools in Arab universities

A visual quality control scale for clinical arterial spin labeling images

Background: Image-quality assessment is a fundamental step before c linical evaluation of mag netic resonance images. The aim of this study was to introduce a vi sual scoring system that provides a qual ity control standard for arterial spin labeling (ASL) and that can be applied to cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps, as well as to ancillary ASL images. Methods: The proposed image quality control (QC) system had two components: (1) contrast-based QC (cQC), describing the visual contrast between anatomical structures; a nd (2) artifact-based QC (aQC), evaluating image quality of theCBFmapforthepresenceofcommontypesofartifacts. Three raters evaluated cQC an d aQC for 158 quantitative signal targeting with alternating radiofrequency labelling o f arterial regions (QUASAR) ASL scans (CBF, T1 relaxation rate, arterial blood volume, and arterial transie nt time). Spearman correlation coefficient ( r ), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used. Results: Intra/inter-rater agreement ranged from moderate to excellent; inter-rater ICC was 0.72 for cQC, 0.60 for aQC, and 0.74 for the combined QC (cQC + aQC). Intra-rater ICC was 0.90 for cQC; 0.80 for aQC, and 0.90 for the combined QC. Strong correlations were found between aQC and CBF maps quality ( r = 0.75), and between aQC and cQC ( r = 0.70). A QC score of 18 was optimal to discriminate between high and low quality clinical scans. Conclusions: The proposed QC system provided high reproducibility and a reliable threshold for discarding low quality scans. Future research should compare this v isualQCsystemwithanautomaticQCsystem

A visual quality control scale for clinical arterial spin labeling images

BACKGROUND: Image-quality assessment is a fundamental step before clinical evaluation of magnetic resonance images. The aim of this study was to introduce a visual scoring system that provides a quality control standard for arterial spin labeling (ASL) and that can be applied to cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps, as well as to ancillary ASL images. METHODS: The proposed image quality control (QC) system had two components: (1) contrast-based QC (cQC), describing the visual contrast between anatomical structures; and (2) artifact-based QC (aQC), evaluating image quality of the CBF map for the presence of common types of artifacts. Three raters evaluated cQC and aQC for 158 quantitative signal targeting with alternating radiofrequency labelling of arterial regions (QUASAR) ASL scans (CBF, T1 relaxation rate, arterial blood volume, and arterial transient time). Spearman correlation coefficient (r), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used. RESULTS: Intra/inter-rater agreement ranged from moderate to excellent; inter-rater ICC was 0.72 for cQC, 0.60 for aQC, and 0.74 for the combined QC (cQC + aQC). Intra-rater ICC was 0.90 for cQC; 0.80 for aQC, and 0.90 for the combined QC. Strong correlations were found between aQC and CBF maps quality (r = 0.75), and between aQC and cQC (r = 0.70). A QC score of 18 was optimal to discriminate between high and low quality clinical scans. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed QC system provided high reproducibility and a reliable threshold for discarding low quality scans. Future research should compare this visual QC system with an automatic QC system

From existing in situ, high-resolution measurement technologies to lab-on-a-chip – the future of water quality monitoring?

Abstract. This paper introduces new insights into the hydrochemical functioning of lowland river-systems using field-based spectrophotometric and electrode technologies. The streamwater concentrations of nitrogen species and phosphorus fractions were measured at hourly intervals on a continuous basis at two contrasting sites on tributaries of the River Thames, one draining a rural catchment, the River Enborne, and one draining a more urban system, The Cut. The measurements complement those from an existing network of multi-parameter water quality sondes maintained across the Thames catchment and weekly monitoring based on grab samples. The results of the sub-daily monitoring show that streamwater phosphorus concentrations display highly complex, seemingly chaotic, dynamics under storm conditions dependent on the antecedent catchment wetness, and that diurnal phosphorus and nitrogen cycles occur under low flow conditions. The diurnal patterns highlight the dominance of sewage inputs in controlling the streamwater phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations at low flows, even at a distance of 7 km from the nearest sewage works in the rural, River Enborne, and that the time of sample collection is important when judging water quality against ecological thresholds or standards. An exhaustion of the supply of phosphorus from diffuse and septic tank sources during storm events was evident and load estimation was not improved by sub-daily monitoring beyond that achieved by daily sampling because of the eventual reduction in the phosphorus mass entering the stream during events. The dominance of respiration over photosynthesis in The Cut indicated a prevalence of heterotrophic algae, and the seasonal patterns in respiration and photosynthesis corresponded with those of temperature and light in this nutrient over-enriched stream. These results highlight the utility of sub-daily water quality measurements but the deployment of modified wet-chemistry technologies into the field was limited by mains electricity availability. A new approach is therefore needed to allow measurement of a wide range of analytes at a broader range of locations for the development of water quality web-sensor networks. The development and field deployment of a miniaturised "lab-on-a-chip" ion chromatograph is proposed and justified. </jats:p

Results of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative 2023

The Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI) aims at comparing ontology matching systems on precisely defined test cases. These test cases can be based on ontologies of different levels of complexity and use different evaluation modalities. The OAEI 2023 campaign offered 15 tracks and was attended by 16 participants. This paper is an overall presentation of that campaign

Results of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative 2021

The Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI) aims at comparing ontology matching systems on precisely defined test cases. These test cases can be based on ontologies of different levels of complexity and use different evaluation modalities (e.g., blind evaluation, open evaluation, or consensus). The OAEI 2021 campaign offered 13 tracks and was attended by 21 participants. This paper is an overall presentation of that campaign

Results of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative 2022

The Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI) aims at comparing ontology matching systems on precisely defined test cases. These test cases can be based on ontologies of different levels of complexity and use different evaluation modalities. The OAEI 2022 campaign offered 14 tracks and was attended by 18 participants. This paper is an overall presentation of that campaign