Scattering amplitudes with off-shell quarks

We present a prescription to calculate manifestly gauge invariant tree-level scattering amplitudes for arbitrary scattering processes with off-shell initial-state quarks within the kinematics of high-energy scattering.Comment: 17 pages, references added, calculation included to indicate equivalence with effective action approac

Effects of Exercise Intervention on Pain, Shoulder Movement, and Functional Status in Women after Breast Cancer Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most important types of cancer among women worldwide and is a significant stressor in women’s life that may affect functional health status. The present study was aimed to determine the effect of selected exercises program on pain, shoulder disability, and functional outcomes in women after breast cancer surgeryMethods: Quasi experimental research design was conducted in the Oncology Department and Oncology Center at Mansoura University Hospital. The data were collected from 60 adult patients with breast cancer surgery. Data were collected utilizing the following tools: 1) Inventory Functional Status-Cancer (IFS-CA) to measured Functional Status of breast cancer women. 2) Numerical rating scale: to measure pain intensity; 3) Universal goniometer: to measure shoulder ROM; 4) A structured questionnaire to collect data related to socio-demographic data. Findings: The mean age of the studied women 43.10 and 45.06. The majority of the women in both groups were married and housewives. There was a highly significant difference in patients' level pain intensity, shoulder movement and functional status of the study group as compared to the control group (p < 0.05). This means that the educational program had positive effect in reducing patients' pain, improve shoulder movement, post program and after three month of implementation of the exercise program.Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that there are improvement in shoulder movement and decrease pain level as well as  improve  functional status and overall quality of life. Keywords: Breast cancer, Pain, shoulder disability, functional status.

Development of wall-covering glass-ceramics from raw materials

The possibihty of producing wall-covering glass-ceramic materials from raw materials by crystallization of the glass is demonstrated. Glass-ceramics based on β-wollastonite and diopside with various ratios were designed from raw materials such as limestone and dolomite. The phases crystallized were examined by X-ray analysis. Thermal expansion and mechanical properties such as bending strength and microhardness for glasses and glass-ceramics were measured

The Teaching and Classroom Problems Facing Student-Teachers of the College of Education at Kuwait University during Field Training

The study aimed to identify field problems encountered by student-teachers during instruction and classroom management. A randomized sample of 90 male and female participants, specialized in social studies and mathematics, was selected from the College of Education at Kuwait University. This mixed research method employs a questionnaire that was forused on 53 key areas of teaching and classroom problems. After testing the research methods for validity and reliability, a thorough analysis was conducted to derive main averages, standard deviations, and t-test values for the challenges’ degrees of impact. Data results reflected a consensus amongst participants that the teaching profession was challenging due to the lack of quality in field training received. The first greatest challenge was  classroom management problems with a slight degree of severity (M=3.04). Instructional problems were the second greatest challenge with a slight degree of severity (M=2.48). Moreover, there were statistically significant differences between male and female student-teachers in the field of teaching problems, in favor of male student teachers. There were also statistically significant differences among student teachers based on their respective area of specialization (social studies and mathematics), in favor of mathematics. The research ended with a set of recommendations for enhancing the performance of student-teachers in dealing with teaching and classroom problems during field training

Women Representation in the Egyptian Parliament: Representation or Misrepresentation?

Egyptian women who played a pivotal role in both, January 25th and June 30th revolutions were rewarded by achieving the highest female representation in Egypt’s parliamentary history in the last 2015 elections (89-14.9%). This paper accesses women's representation/mis-representation in light of this increase in numbers .Results show that the implementation of a one-time quota, that not only seeks to include women but several unprotected sectors of the society, guaranteed positive outcomes but warns from a decline if not implemented for at least one more time ensuring the continuance of women empowerment. Keywords:-Women Representation – Egyptian 2015 parliamentary elections – Empowerment – Quota

Virtual Collaborative R&D Teams in Malaysia Manufacturing SMEs

This paper presents the results of empirical research conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The specific objective of the study is better understanding of the application of collaborative technologies in business, to find the effective factors to assist SMEs to remain competitive in the future. The paper stresses to find an answer for a question “Is there any relationship between company size, Internet connection facility and virtuality?”. The survey data shows SMEs are now technologically capable of performing the virtual collaborative team, but the infrastructure usage is less. SMEs now have the necessary technology to begin the implementation process of collaboration tools to reduce research and development (R&D) time, costs and increase productivity. So, the manager of R&D should take the potentials of virtual teams into account

Financial Ratios and Firm's Value in the Bahrain Bourse

This paper attempts to measure how financial ratios explain the firms' value through price earnings ratio or market to book ratio in the Bahrain Bourse. All listed companies in Bahrain Bourse, with the exception of the closed ones, are used over the period of 1995 to 2013. Using all the main categories in financial ratios such as profitability, liquidity, efficiency and debt, the paper found that return on assets (ROA) is the most determinant factor in explaining the market value followed by financial leverage and beta. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the size of the firm also has a significant effect on its market value. The size of the firm is measured through total assets and Tobin's Q ratio. In this respect, investors perceive different signals from small firms compared to large ones, and from growth firms compared to no-growth firms. On the sector analysis, it is found that ROA is the main determinant factor for explaining the value of the firm. Keywords: Bahrain Bourse, Firm Value, Tobin's Q, Financial Ratios, Size and Sector Effect

Teaching English at Elementary Level: Quality Differences between Theory and Practice

This study examines the perceptions of the Kuwaiti elementary school teacher trainees of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and an attempt to identify areas that need to be improved in the elementary English teachers’ program at the CBE (College of Basic Education). The participants in this paper are one hundred and twenty six Kuwaiti teacher trainees of English who currently teach EFL through a practicum course in elementary public schools located in six school districts in the State of Kuwait. The data was collected through out the school year 2010/2012 by using a questionnaire which was filled out by the main classroom teachers as they were observing the EFL teachers' trainees in their classrooms. Based on the findings, the study has reported that teacher trainees with delight had the opportunity to work alongside a true mentor (classroom teacher), and most teacher trainees were satisfied with their performance. Key Words: Teacher trainee, Elementary stage, Practice, EFL Teachers, Curriculu

Can lung volumes and capacities be used as an outcome measure for phrenic nerve recovery after cardiac surgeries?

AbstractPhrenic nerve is the main nerve drive to the diaphragm and its injury is a well-known complication following cardiac surgeries. It results in diaphragmatic dysfunction with reduction in lung volumes and capacities. This study aimed to evaluate the objectivity of lung volumes and capacities as an outcome measure for the prognosis of phrenic nerve recovery after cardiac surgeries. In this prospective experimental study, patients were recruited from Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Department, Educational-Hospital of College of Medicine, Cairo University. They were 11 patients with right phrenic nerve injury and 14 patients with left injury. On the basis of receiving low-level laser irradiation, they were divided into irradiated group and non-irradiated group. Measures of phrenic nerve latency, lung volumes and capacities were taken pre and post-operative and at 3-months follow up. After 3months of low-level laser therapy, the irradiated group showed marked improvement in the phrenic nerve recovery. On the other hand, vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in the first second were the only lung capacity and volume that showed improvement consequent with the recovery of right phrenic nerve (P value <0.001 for both). Furthermore, forced vital capacity was the single lung capacity that showed significant statistical improvement in patients with recovered left phrenic nerve injury (P value <0.001). Study concluded that lung volumes and capacities cannot be used as an objective outcome measure for recovery of phrenic nerve injury after cardiac surgeries