The Cognitive Economy: An approach to Developing the Faculties of Education Competitive Abilities

The current study aimes at recognizing the cognitive economy reality at the faculties of education and the effect of its dimensions on developing the competitive abilities of the faculties of education. The two researchers used the perspective method . Two questionnaires were prepared. The first one was applied on a sample of staff members at the faculties of education, which it concluded (117) person in order to; recognize the reality of the cognitive economy at the faculties of education and the effect of its dimensions on developing their competitive abilities. The second questionnaire was applied on the same previous sample in order to; recognize the requirements of the cognitive economy at the faculties of education to increase its competitive abilities. The study came down to several results, most important of which were the agreement of the sample individuals, as whole, that ,the requirements of the cognitive economy at the faculties of education that increase its competitive abilities, were represented in evolving information technology and telecoms, the curriculum, the service and research programs, enabling staff members to participate in the activities of information mobility of human principals among universities, giving students the technological skills concerning the international markets and sharing at the unions of the pioneering international universities in the field of information technology and telecoms. The researcher concluded with setting a suggested proposal that included aims, fundamentals, mechanisms and guarantees to achieve the cognitive economy as an Approach to developing the competitive abilities of the faculties of education

Wideband Micro-Power Generators for Vibration Energy Harvesting

Energy harvesters collect and convert energy available in the environment into useful electrical power to satisfy the power requirements of autonomous systems. Vibration energy is a prevalent source of waste energy in industrial and built environments. Vibration-based energy harvesters, or vibration-based micro power generators (VBMPGs), utilize a transducer, a mechanical oscillator in this application, to capture kinetic energy from environmental vibrations and to convert it into electrical energy using electromagnetic, electrostatic, or piezoelectric transduction mechanisms. A key design feature of all VBMPGs, regardless of their transduction mechanism, is that they are optimally tuned to harvest vibration energy within a narrow frequency band in the neighborhood of the natural frequency of the oscillator. Outside this band, the output power is too low to be conditioned and utilized. This limitation is exacerbated by the fact that VBMPGs are also designed to have high quality factors to minimize energy dissipation, further narrowing the optimal operating frequency band. Vibrations in most environments, however, are random and wideband. As a result, VBMPGs can harvest energy only for a relatively limited period of time, which imposes excessive constraints on their usability. A new architecture for wideband VBMPGs is the main contribution of this thesis. The new design is general in the sense that it can be applied to any of the three transduction mechanisms listed above. The linear oscillator is replaced with a piecewise-linear oscillator as the energy-harvesting element of the VBMPG. The new architecture has been found to increase the bandwidth of the VBMPG during a frequency up-sweep, while maintaining the same bandwidth in a frequency downsweep. Experimental results show that using the new architecture results in a 313% increase in the width of the bandwidth compared to that produced by traditional architecture. Simulations show that under random-frequency excitations, the new architecture collects more energy than traditional architecture. In addition, the knowledge acquired has been used to build a wideband electromagnetic VBMPG using MicroElectroMechanical Systems, MEMS, technology. This research indicates that a variety of piecewise-linear oscillators, including impact oscillators, can be implemented on MPG structures that have been built using MEMS technology. When the scale of the MPGs is reduced, lower losses are likely during contact between the moving oscillators and the stopper, which will lead to an increase in bandwidth and hence in the amount of energy collected. Finally, a design procedure has been developed for optimizing such wideband MPGs. This research showed that wideband MPGs require two design optimization steps in addition to the traditional technique, which is used in all types of generators, of minimizing mechanical energy losses through structural design and material selection. The first step for both regular and wideband MPGs minimizes the MPG damping ratio by increasing the mass and stiffness of the MPG by a common factor until the effect of size causes the rate at which energy losses increase to accelerate beyond that common factor. The second step, which is specific to wideband MPGs, tailors the output power and bandwidth to fit the Probability Density Function, PDF, of environmental vibrations. A figure of merit FoM was devised to quantify the quality of this fit. Experimental results show that with this procedure, the bandwidth at half-power level increases to more than 600% of the original VBMPG bandwidth

Effect of clindamycin vaginal pessary before cesarean section on postpartum infectious morbidity

Background: Post-cesarean section (CS) infections, namely, endometritis, fever and wound infection are considered a major health problem which necessitates effective interventions. Antibiotic prophylaxis before CS cannot completely eliminate the risk of postpartum infections. Preoperative antiseptic vaginal cleansing is one of the commonest methodsto reduce infectious morbidities after CS. Aim of the work: The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of prophylactic administration of clindamycin vaginal suppository before elective CS on postpartum infectious morbidity. Methods: 196 patients were included in this intervention. They were divided equally into two groups (each 98 patients); intervention group (which received clindamycin 100 mg vaginal suppository at bedtime for 3 nights before CS) and control group (which received nothing). Both groups were followed till the end of puerperium for the development of postpartum infections namely, endometritis, fever, and wound infection. Results: There was statistically significant decrease in the frequency of endometritis, fever, and wound infection in the intervention group when compared to control group. Also, there was highly statistically significant decrease in the frequency of overall post-CS infectious morbidity in the intervention group when compared to control group. There was statistically significant difference between both groups as regard white blood cells count and C-reactive protein level 24 hours after cesarean section. Conclusion: Prophylactic administration of clindamycin vaginal suppository before elective CS reduces the risk of postpartum infections namely endometritis, fever, wound infection and overall post-CS infectious morbidity. Preoperative clindamycin vaginal suppository could be  protective against post-CS infectious morbidities

The role of surfactants in inhibition of uropathogenic E. coli biofilm in catheterized patients in Assiut University Hospitals.

Background: Escherichia coli (E. coli) represent one of the major pathogens implicated in catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Formation of biofilm by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is a major survival and persistence mechanism of bacteria against antibiotics and host immune responses in the bladder. This study was designed aiming to evaluate the role of surfactants [non-anionic: Tween 80, anionic: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cationic: cetyl trimethyl ammonium (CTMA)] on biofilm forming CsgA gene containing strains of E. coli. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted at Assiut University Hospitals ICUs included 100 patients; 53 males and 47 females, catheterized for at least 3 days. Biofilm production by E. coli isolates was detected phenotypically by culture on Congo red agar plates and confirmed genotypically by detection of CsgA by conventional PCR. Overnight broth culture of each E. coli isolate was incubated with each surfactant at 3 different concentrations (CMC). Subculture on congo red agar plates was done. Inhibition of biofilm formation was indicted by fading or absence of black color of the colonies. Results: Tween 80 showed inhibition of biofilm formation by 15% of all samples at a concentration 0.1% (>CMC). SDS show biofilm inhibition by 23% at concentration 2.32mg/ml (=CMC) and at concentration 3mg/ml (>CMC). CTMA inhibited the biofilm formation by 7% at a concentration 0.4mg/ml (=CMC) and by 38% at a concentration 0.8mg/ml (>CMC). Conclusion: Surfactants have disruptive and inhibitory effect on biofilm formation that provides an alternative for plain and medicated catheters

Covered stent graft for treatment of carotid artery stenosis with post-stenotic aneurysm

Several bare metals, self-expanding stents have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat carotid stenosis, but no covered stents have been particularly examined or approved for carotid or cerebrovascular applications. Nonetheless, there are a number of potentially useful applications for covered stents in the brachiocephalic, carotid, and even intracranial arteries. As with currently accepted applications for bare metal carotid stents, the use of covered stents in carotid arteries has been reserved for patients who are at high risk for complications with open surgical management of their specific problem. The present case report emphasizes the safety and efficacy of covered stent in complex carotid artery reconstruction entailing stenosis and aneurysmal dilatation and through light on its impact on minimizing the risk of ischemic complications associated with endovascular or surgical carotid sacrifice

Clinical Evaluation of 660 nm Diode Laser Therapy on the Pain, Size and Functional Disorders of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

BACKGROUND: Minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis (MiRAS) is one of the most common, recurrent, and painful mucosal pathological condition. It is characterised by round or shallow oval ulcers, less than 10 mm in diameter, surrounded by a thin erythematous halo. It involves non-keratinized mucosa such as the labial and buccal mucosa, the ventral surface or borders of the tongue and the floor of the mouth, but it is uncommon to occur on the keratinised mucosa. It heals spontaneously within 10-14 days without scarring. There is no curative remedy to prevent its recurrence; also, available modalities only reduce the symptoms and severity of the lesion. AIM: Since these lesions may be extremely painful, we decided to estimate the pain-relieving and healing properties of low energy level laser therapy using diode laser 660 nm on MiRAS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty healthy patients suffering from minor aphthous ulcers were randomly selected from the Out-Patient Clinic of Oral Medicine Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University. They were equally divided into two groups, study group who received 660 nm diode laser irradiation while the control group received placebo (sodium bicarbonate rinse). The visual analogue scale, size reduction, effectiveness indices and functional disorders were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Both groups presented a statistically significant difference from baseline to follow up periods. But, diode laser 660 nm treatment showed more remarkable improvements in reduction of healing time, pain and lesion size. CONCLUSION: We concluded that diode laser 660 nm should be further considered as an effective alternative therapeutic regimen to patients who suffer from recurrent aphthous stomatitis

A Study Comparing the Effectiveness of Hamstring Tendon Graft Versus Quadriceps Tendon Graft in Press Fit Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background: Press fit ACL reconstruction is a surgical procedure used to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee. During press fit ACL reconstruction, a graft is used to replace the torn ACL. The graft can be harvested from various sources, such as the patient's own hamstring tendons or patellar tendon, or from a donor. The graft is then inserted into tunnels created in the femur and tibia bone. The term "press fit" refers to the technique used to secure the graft within these bone tunnels. Instead of using screws or other fixation devices, press fit ACL reconstruction relies on tight fitting of the graft within the tunnels. Objective: This study aimed to compare the subjective, objective, and radiological results of press fit anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using hamstring tendon graft versus quadriceps tendon graft. Methods: A total of 50 patients with complete ACL tears underwent press fit ACL reconstruction between March 2016 and June 2019. Among them, 25 patients received a hamstring tendon graft, and another 25 patients received a quadriceps tendon graft. Results: The study demonstrated favorable outcomes of press fit ACL reconstruction, with improvements observed in all 50 patients when comparing postoperative to preoperative parameters. The results also showed comparable outcomes between the quadriceps and hamstring groups in terms of subjective, objective, and radiological measures. Conclusion: The press fit technique for ACL reconstruction is a successful method of graft fixation that offers advantages such as fewer complications, lower cost, and easier revision compared to other commonly used techniques

Knowledge and Practice of PHC Physicians toward the Detection and Management of Hypertension and Other CVD Risk Factors in Egypt

Aim. To assess the knowledge and practice of PHC physicians toward the detection and management of hypertension (HTN) and other CVD risk factors. Methods. A cross-sectional study of all primary health care physicians of the FHU of three rural districts of Egypt was conducted. Each physician was subjected to a prevalidated interview questionnaire on the WHO-CVD risk management package for low and medium resources, and a checklist of observation of daily practices. Results. Hypertension was a priority problem in about two-thirds (62.9%) of physicians, yet only 19% have guidelines for HTN patients. Clinical history recording system for HNT was available for 50% of physicians. Levels of knowledge varied with regard to definition of HTN (61.3%, fair), procedures for BP measurement (43.5%, poor), indications for referral (43.5%, poor), patient counseling (61.3%, fair), patient treatment (59.8%, fair). Availability of clinical history recording system for HNT was a significant predictor for physician's level of knowledge (P = 0.001). Overall level of practice was fair (68.5%). Conclusion. PHC physicians have unsatisfactory knowledge and practice on hypertension. There is a need of more continuing medical education. Local and international manuals, workshops, and seminars on how to make use of these guidelines would improve doctors' performance