ICCASA - A Context-Based Security Framework for Cloud Services

This paper discusses the use of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) as an efficient way to handle cloud computing frontend security concerns. Without AOP, the necessary security code would be mixed with the business logic that the cloud service provider implements. This makes the maintenance of both code and business logic tedious and prone to errors. The proposed aspect-oriented approach in this paper is built upon a Web services frontend to the cloud service. Three types of context are taken into account when tuning the aspects (security services). The contexts contain various details on the environment of the Cloud and the Web services, which permit activating the necessary aspects in response to these details. A set of experiments validating this approach, are also reported in this paper

Muslim Feminisms and Fictions in a Postcolonial Frame: Case Studies of Nawal El Saadawi and Leila Aboulela

The postcolonial condition has had life-shaping effects on millions of individuals, in the Third World in particular. This study focuses on the different positions embraced by two authors recognized as 'Muslim feminists.' I explore how they engage with postcolonial subjects and particularly address women's questions in their contemporary societies, through analyses of such 'Muslim fictions' as Woman at Point Zero, The Fall of the Imam, and Zeina by Nawal El Saadawi and The Translator, Minaret, and Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela. Because a feminist movement is not autonomous, but bound to its sociopolitical context, the rise as well as the failure of secular political and social movements in Egypt have had an impact on feminist struggles. El Saadawi starts her independent secular feminism and inscribes her female characters as revolutionary subjects who rebel against Islamic patriarchal law. Using Caroline Rooney's concept of 'revolutionary spirit' and Linda Alcoff's positionality, this study demonstrates how El Saadawi enables her female characters to counter the brutality of Arab women's lives through different strategies, even hostile ones. Moreover, El Saadawi is as much a nationalist writer as she is a feminist one, so this study illustrates how the tale of the country has been interwoven with the private lives of women, in alignment with Fredric Jameson's paradigm. Whatever the limitations of El Saadawi's secular feminism have been, however, it is undeniable that her version of secular feminism prepared the ground for the new emergent movement that is Islamic feminism. This study examines Aboulela's novels as a comparative paradigm with El Saadawi's. From a committed Muslim point of view, Aboulela inscribes Islamic faith extensively in her writings. Her work offers a potentially universalizing, although not universal, rallying point; it offers a chance for women to create an Islamic spiritual site of belonging and possible solidarity that transcends social classes, ethnic differences and geographical boundaries. However, Aboulela`s work for emancipation is confined to a spiritual level and seems to be less radical in the feminist focus regarding women's rights

Left paraduodenal hernia: a rare cause of recurrent abdominal pain: case report

Internal hernias are quite rare, accounting for fewer than 1% of all abdominal hernias. Moreover, the most frequent cause of internal herniation is paraduodenal hernia (PDH). Diagnosing paraduodenal hernias can be difficult due to the wide range of symptoms that can occur. It is a case report of paraduodenal hernia that was diagnosed and managed in a tertiary center. We describe the case of a 55-year-old male patient who had been experiencing nonspecific abdominal discomfort for the last 5 years and had several comorbidities and positive serology. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed that he had a left PDH, which was effectively treated with laparoscopic surgical repair. The study's strength is that it was correctly identified by CT and subsequently laparoscopically corrected. A gastrografin swallow study was also performed postoperatively to ensure there was no leak. The study's flaw is that the patient was misdiagnosed for five years in other medical facilities. Because paraduodenal hernia is an uncommon diagnosis, it's important to keep it in mind as one of the differential diagnoses for persistent discomfort. It also needs accurate imaging in order to identify and successfully manage it. To demonstrate the relevance of this uncommon condition, future research is needed to report on any misdiagnosis or treatment. To conclude, nowadays the best option for paraduodenal hernia repair is laparoscopic surgery. However, because it can present with a wide variety of symptoms and diagnosis might be challenging, it demands a high index of suspicion. The gold standard for identifying paraduodenal hernia is still a CT scan of the abdomen. Patients who are stable and have no signs of intestinal obstruction might decide to have their hernia repaired to avoid future problems. To demonstrate the relevance of this uncommon condition, future research is needed to report on any misdiagnosis or treatment

Development of affordable hot box calorimeter to determine the U-value of inhomogeneous building material

open access articleIn recent years, the use of three-dimensional printing to create construction components has advanced quickly; it is possible now to simplify construction, increase speed, and lower cost while using natural resources responsibly. It also allows us to use recycled material to produce building envelopes while increasing design flexibility. However, the thermal performance of building materials must be characterized to achieve the necessary energy efficiency of the building envelopes. This study aims to develop, produce, and calibrate a hot box calorimeter at a reasonable price for thermal testing components building envelope. The heat loss through these components using a hot box can be measured in a lab to get an idea of the thermal performance of the building envelopes. In order to evaluate and analyze the thermal performance of various 3D-printed building brick samples made in the labs, this study explains the design and creation of an inexpensive hot box. The hot box can conduct a conventional thermal experiment, which involves monitoring heat flux, surface temperatures, and air temperatures. The testing process, instrumentation, test conditions, and validation of the new metering box are all covered in the article. The U-value of the brand-new lattice-based 3D printed building blocks was afterward determined using the validated new hot box. It was observed that the U-values values of 1.04 W/m2.K and 0.99 W/m2.K, respectively, for small components utilizing developed hot box and larger lattice panels using commercial equipment, with a maximum variance of 5%. It highlights the dependability of the hot box apparatus, which is also made affordable to operate by using less material for specimen preparation and less energy to maintain the temperature in the hot and cold chambers. Its small size also makes setup and thermal testing of construction materials simple

EXPLORING AND DEVELOPING ITEMS MEASURING SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP II (SLII)

Purpose of the study: This research intended to develop a valid and reliable survey instrument to measure Situational Leadership Model II (SLM II) through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), including the four quadrants, evidently describe the Situational Leadership aspects style which is; directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Methodology: A survey with an interval scale between 1 and 10. Using the extraction method of Principal Component with Varimax Rotation, the researcher performed the EFA procedure on construct elements using Amos 24.0. Bartletts’ Test of Sphericity and the sampling adequacy by (KMO) was performed also. Cronbach’s Alpha was applied to test the reliability of the retained items. Main Findings: The Bartletts’ Test of Sphericity is highly significant (sig. 000). Furthermore, the sampling adequacy by (KMO=0.889) is excellent. The four components have Cronbach’s alpha values with more than 0.7. Furthermore, Cronbach’s Alpha value for all 24 items also exceeded the threshold value of 0.7. The development scale and validation confirmed that the instrument is consistent and stable across samples. Applications of this study: This study was applied to the leading telecommunications companies in Jordan that are exclusively providing mobile phones and internet service. It Includes Orange, Zain, and Umniah. The study targeted all permanent middle managers of (JTS) who hold supervisory positions, heads of departments, directors of divisions, or directors who are supervising three or more subordinates. Novelty/Originality of this study: It adds a remarkable contribution to the measurement of the SLM II, mainly in the JTS context. The EFA outcomes formed a configuration that extracts four components of SLM II, which can be measured by 24 items established in this research, which reveals that the elements are applicable in this study

Utility of sphenoid ostium in relation to posterior wall of maxillary sinus in CT scan

BackgroundIn the past many rough guides and estimates have been used to localize the face of sphenoid sinus for FESS due to the bony anatomical variations of sphenoid sinus as well as its relationship with adjacent vital structures.AimsThe current study was performed to find out an easiest fixed bony landmark on computerized tomographic scans for localizing the sphenoid sinus ostium before embarking on to the FESS and Pituitary Surgery.Methods It was a retrospective study in which computerized tomographic (CT) scan axial cut of sinuses from 166 patients were reviewed to determine average distance between Posterior Maxillary Wall (PMW) and the Front of Sphenoid (FOS) in both right and left sides.Results Mean age of the patients was 41.18±14.75 (95 per cent CI=38.92–43.44) years. Males (n=88, 53.01 per cent) and females (n=78, 46.99 per cent) were almost equally participated in the study. The average anterior-posterior distance from the PMW to the FOS was on the right side 7.1mm and on the left side 7.9mm, the average in both right and left respectively was 7.5mm in the CT scans.ConclusionThe posterior maxillary sinus wall may act as a concrete and unmistakable bony landmark on CT scan to localize the face of sphenoid sinus for the sinus surgeons performing FESS and pituitary surgery

Acute respiratory tract infection symptoms and the uptake of dual influenza and pneumococcal vaccines among Hajj pilgrims

Background: Hajj pilgrims are encouraged to take influenza and pneumococcal vaccines prior to their travelto safeguard against acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). It is unclear whether dual immunisationwith influenza and pneumococcal vaccines have had any impact on ARTI symptoms. To this end, we haveexamined the data of the last several years to assess whether combined influenza and pneumococcalvaccination has affected the rate of ARTI symptoms among Hajj pilgrims.Materials and methods: Hajj pilgrims from United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar who attendedthe congregation between 2005 and 2015 were included in this study. Data from surveillance studiesor clinical trials involving Hajj pilgrims were used. In this analysis we have made use of the raw data toconstruct a trend line graph with the prevalence of combined cough and fever (as a proxy for ARTI) againstthe uptake of combined influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, and to estimate the relative risk (RR) ofARTI with 95% confidence interval (95% CI).Results: Data of a pooled sample of 9350 pilgrims, aged 0.5–90 years with a male to female ratio of 1.1, wereanalysed. Although vaccination uptake did not rise significantly over the years, there was also no observed meaningfulbenefit of combined vaccination (RR = 1.1; 95% CI 0.8–1.4), the rates of ARTI symptoms demonstrateda decline over the last several years. The findings of this analysis highlight that the prevalence of ‘cough and fever’among Hajj pilgrims is on decline but the uptake of combined influenza and pneumococcal vaccines remainsunchanged over years, and the decline can not be attributed to dual influenza and pneumococcal vaccination.Conclusions: Acute respiratory tract infections among Hajj pilgrims are decreasing, it is unclear if thereduction is due to vaccine uptake, but the data and analysis have some limitations

The effect of financial technology on the financial performance of national Saudi banks

Fintech, characterized by the intersection of finance and technology, has globally transformed the financial landscape, reshaping traditional banking models as its innovations continue to unfold. The current study seeks to provide a comprehensive examination of the impact of fintech on the financial performance of Saudi banks. Nine Saudi national banks were investigated. The data were gathered from the annual reports from 2017 to 2022. The study followed multiple regression to test the relationship between factors. The study found that there was no notable impact of FinTech tools, such as Banking messages, Internet banking, Mobile applications, and Digital transfers, on return on assets (ROA) and return on equities (ROE) when looking at each tool individually. Nevertheless, when considering all these tools collectively, there is a considerable influence of 93.2% on ROA, and 84.2%, on ROE

Prevalence and Causes of Intrahepatic and Extrahepatic Bile Duct Obstruction among the Jaundiced Patients at Riyadh Hospitals Diagnosed by Ultrasound

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and causes of bile duct obstruction among patients with jaundice at the ultrasound departments in Riyadh hospitals. Methods and Results: The study included 525 records of jaundiced patients above 18 years old that were referred to the ultrasound department. Data were collected from PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) at three different hospitals in Riyadh. Of 525 adult jaundiced patients, 69 had biliary obstruction, a 13% prevalence. In our study, 38(55.1%) cases of obstruction were caused by stones, 14(20.3%) by tumors, 9(13.0%) by inflammation, 5(7.2%) by a nonfunctioning stent, and 3(4.3%) by pnemobilia. Obstructive jaundice occurred significantly more frequently with increasing age. The study revealed no significant difference between gender and the presence of obstruction. More studies with a larger sample size of obstructive jaundice patients are suggested