The association between health financing and maternal and child health in Middle East and North Africa countries

Improving maternal and child health outcomes for women and children is a critical step to achieve the MDGs; however it requires sufficient funding to implement proven quality interventions. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between the different health care financing options cross the Middle East and North Africa “MENA countries and the maternal and child health outcomes. Our main argument is that: Can different health care financing strategies affect Maternal, Neonatal and Child health? If yes, How?. This study is based on a cross sectional analysis of twenty one states from MENA region between 2009 and 2013 exploring the three dimensions of the maternal and child health outcomes namely a) Infant mortality b) Maternal mortality and c) Child health. Correlation between financial and maternal and child health indicators as well as linear regressions was carried out to investigate the relationships between the maternal and child health indicators and health spending consequently health system financing strategy. The findings of this study indicate that more spending on health is highly associated with positive maternal and child health outcomes namely reduction in infant and child mortality. Our results also indicate that the improvements in government effectiveness in regards to government health spending is accompanied with higher maternal and child health outcomes. Thus, increasing government expenditures is likely to lead to better improvements of health outcomes if it is accompanied by the right policies and institutions, which was the case of the first group of countries in MENA region

Low-Cost Architecture for an Advanced Smart Shower System Using Internet of Things Platform

Wastage of water is a critical issue amongst the various global crises. This paper proposes an architecture model for a low-cost, energy efficient SMART Shower system that is ideal for efficient water management and be able to predict reliably any accidental fall in the shower space. The sensors in this prototype can document the surrounding temperature and humidity in real time and thereby circulate the ideal temperature of water for its patron, rather than its reliance on predictive values . Three different scenarios are discussed that can allow reliably predicting any accidental fall in the shower vicinity. Motion sensors, sound sensors and gesture sensors can be used to compliment prediction of possible injuries in the shower. The integration with the Internet of Things (IoT) platform will allow caretakers to monitor the activities in the shower space especially in the case of elderly individuals as there have been reported cases of casualties in the slippery shower space. The proposed proof-of-concept prototype is cost effective and can be incorporated into an existing system for the added precedence of safety and convenience. The intelligent system is conserving water by optimizing its flow temperature and the IoT platform allows real time monitoring for safety

A study on the academic English language Target needs of the faculty of applied science undergraduates at Al-Aqsa University.

Mengenal pasti keperluan bahasa pelajar adalah langkah awal yang penting dalam usaha membantu mereka menangani masalah bahasa yang dihadapi semasa belajar. Identifying the students’ language needs is an essential first step to help them cope with the language difficulties they face in their academic study

Clinical Impact of Custodiol Cardioplegic Solution on Patients Undergoing Complex Cardiac Surgery With Mild to Moderate Impairment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function

Background: The Bretschneider HTK solution is used widely for multiorgan preservation for transplantation, as well as a cardioplegic agent that allows single dose administration which is an attractive option for lengthy complex cardiac surgery. It was proved that it is simple to use, safe and practical. Moreover, it is considered to confer sufficient myocardial protection for more than 2 h of cardiac arrest. We undertook this descriptive study to analyze the performance of HTK solution in patients undergoing complex cardiac surgery with mild to moderate impairment of left ventricular systolic function. Patients and methods: A total of 50 patients underwent different complex cardiac surgery at national heart institute from January 2015 to November 2016 using single dose Custodiol cardioplegia as the primary and sole cardioplegic agent, their data was prospectively collected and their hospital outcome was analyzed as regards to ten study endpoints namely Prolonged ventilation, return to theatre for bleeding, renal failure, stroke, 30 days mortality, postoperative MI, need for inotropes, time on inotropes, ICU stay and hospital stay. Pre- and postoperative echocardiography was done to compare and evaluate the change of LV function using the parameters of End Systolic Dimension, End Diastolic Dimension, Fraction Shortening and Ejection Fraction of the left ventricle. Results: Half of the patients were males. Their age ranged between 16 – 65 years with a mean (standard deviation) of 47.46(11.10). preoperative ejection fraction ranged from 30 % to 49% with a mean (standard deviation) of 41.8 (6.32), the majority of them (64%) had NYHA class of 3 and half of them had CCS of 3. all patients were done electively. The most common procedure done was redo DVR 24% (12 patients) followed by Bentall operation 22%(11 patients). This is followed by CABG + MVR 7 patients (14%), then an equal number of 6 patients (12%) who underwent redo MVR post-infective endocarditis and CABG+ MVrep. The repair of tricuspid valve was done for 14 patients (28%) either with MVR or DVR. 4 patients (8%) had CABG +AVR for their combined lesions and another equal number of two patients (4%) underwent redo CABG and AVR + conduit (valve separate tube graft operation). prolonged ventilation occurred in 20% of the cases. An equal percentage of 6% of the patients had to return to the operative room and had postoperative MI. Renal failure occurred in 4% of the patients and as far as 30-day mortality is concerned, a similar 4% of patients died within this period. EF and FS were very similar when compared together (41.8 ± 6.32 %, 20.8 ± 2.35 % preoperatively compared to 41.92 ± 7.49%, 20.85 ± 3.25% postoperatively). P value was insignificant (0.937 and 0.929) respectively. Conclusion: A single dose of an HTK cardioplegic solution provides good myocardial protection in complex cardiac surgery with mild to moderate impairment of LV function and has a good immediate postoperative outcome

Evaluation of Foliar Spray with Some Amino Acids in Comparison to Some Antioxidants on Vegetative Growth and Cluster Quality of Red Globe Grape Cultivar

In the present study, we investigated the effect of foliar spray application of the amino acids compound “Pepton” at (1000 ppm), along with some vitamins (ascorbic acid at 500 ppm, vitamin E at 50 ppm, β–Sitosterol at 20 ppm), alone or combined with each other, on increasing the vegetative and reproductive growth and decreasing sun burned berries of Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Red Globe’ grown under the Egyptian climate. The experiment which comprised eight treatments was conducted in the two successive seasons 2019–2020 with a preliminary season of 2018 in a private vineyard located at kilometer 55 Cairo–Alexandria desert road. Results showed that on days of maximum temperature of 35°C to 40°C, the vines treated with amino acids were about 8°C cooler, compared with the control in both seasons. This result was due to their positive effect on the increment of the leaves surface area which acts as a barrier, leading to effectively reduce some undesirable phenomena and improve the grape quality. In addition, results revealed that using the combined treatment of amino acids and ascorbic acid gave the highest significant increase in total soluble solids and improve yield quality, cluster weight, chlorophyll and anthocyanin content and decrease the percentage of sun burned berries in both seasons of investigation

Vulnerability Analysis of Interdependent Critical Infrastructures upon a Cyber-attack

There is an extensive literature on modelling cascading effects in Critical Infrastructures (CIs). Concerning the cascading impacts of a cyber-attack upon other CIs, a detailed scenario analysis done by the Norwegian Directorate of Civil Protection concludes that a considerable impact could be achieved. However, the analysis admits that the probability of the attack would be very low, since it would require considerable expertise and resources. We argue that a smart attacker could exploit existing knowledge on cascading impacts to plan for perfidiously-timed cyber-attacks requiring low resources that would achieve a significant disruption of CIs. To illustrate our point, we build and simulate a highly-aggregated system dynamics model using estimates of disruptions effects across CIs taken from the literature

A Deep Analysis of Hybrid-Multikey-PUF

Unique key generation is essential for encryption purposes between Internet of Things (IoT) devices. To produce a unique key for this encryption, Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) might be employed. Also, the Random Number Generator (RNG) is used in many different domains; nonetheless, security is one of the most important areas that require the best RNG. In this article, We investigate the quality of random numbers generated by Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs). We have analyzed three Figures of Merit (FoMs), Uniqueness, Randomness, and Reliability of PUFs implemented on different FPGAs. In our experiments, we have operated the test devices at different temperatures (20{\deg}F, 40{\deg}F, 60{\deg}F, 80{\deg}F, 120{\deg}F, 140{\deg}F). In the PUF that we have analyzed, the key is generated in 1 second on average. We also have analyzed and described the essential properties of random number generator that is most vital considering things to secure our Internet of Things(IoT) devices.Comment: 6,8th IEEE World Forum on Internet of Things (IEEE WFIoT2022

Machine Learning Based IoT Adaptive Architecture for Epilepsy Seizure Detection: Anatomy and Analysis

A seizure tracking system is crucial for monitoring and evaluating epilepsy treatments. Caretaker seizure diaries are used in epilepsy care today, but clinical seizure monitoring may miss seizures. Monitoring devices that can be worn may be better tolerated and more suitable for long-term ambulatory use. Many techniques and methods are proposed for seizure detection; However, simplicity and affordability are key concepts for daily use while preserving the accuracy of the detection. In this study, we propose a versal, affordable noninvasive based on a simple real-time k-Nearest-Neighbors (kNN) machine learning that can be customized and adapted to individual users in less than four seconds of training time; the system was verified and validated using 500 subjects, with seizure detection data sampled at 178 Hz, the operated with a mean accuracy of (94.5%).Comment: Under review, 5 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Simulation Models in eGovernment Using System Dynamics

Doktorgradsavhandling ved Universitetet i Agder, Institutt for infomasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi, 2017System Dynamics (SD) is a method to build simulation models using computers, to study the behaviour of systems, and apply what-if scenarios aiming at achieving optimal policy design. In this thesis, we are introducing an SD approach in modelling the eGovernment. The thesis is based on two topics or essays: eParticipation and eAccessibility as examples of eGovernment areas that SD models have not been used in before, to show how SD can be used in modelling and supporting decisions in the field of eGovernment, especially in new areas. Although this research is part of the eGovMon project1 where the use of SD method is indicated, via a literature review we shed light on the mathematical modelling methods commonly used in the eGovernment field, and a comparison between the suitable methods and SD is sketched showing the benefits of and our rationale behind choosing SD. eParticipation aims at linking ordinary people with politics and politicians by making the policymaking process understandable and easy to follow via Information and Communication Technologies. To apply this concept, we were interested in finding a topic of public interest that needs to be highlighted and promoted. Employment policies for Persons with Disabilities (PWD)2 including factors that prevent or promote them to move from welfare recipients to join the labour force in Norway, is such a topic. The employment rate for PWD in Norway is unchanged since 2000, and is not as high as the neighbouring countries, despite the repeated governmental promises. Under this topic, we have administered two questionnaires, one of them towards PWD and another towards potential employers. The PWD questionnaire covered PWD attitudes towards employment in Norway, including information about the factors enabling them to work, encouraging them to take available work opportunities, and preventing them from active job application. Corre-spondingly, the second questionnaire covered the attitudes of employers towards recruiting PWD in Norway, including factors encouraging employers to, and preventing them from recruiting PWD, as well as information related to employers’ awareness of facts about PWD employment. The results were incorporated in an SD model which focuses on enabling PWD to move from welfare to work. The model is intended to be used by policymakers, disability organisations, and individual citizens, and support more targeted discussions among them. Additionally, this model was encapsulated in an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE). To explore how the model could change how its users think and take decisions, the ILE was assessed by an expert opinion poll, and tested with users in two different experiments. 67% of the sample of our expert opinion poll thinks that the ILE achieves its intended goals. Furthermore, 71% of the candidates of both experiments have redefined certain knowledge as a result of using the ILE. eAccessibility of a website refers to the ability of all people to use this website irrespective of their disabilities or the client devices they use to access the Internet. It is an important aspect of websites in general and of public websites in particular. Access to public websites is crucial to assure equal opportunities for all citizens to participate in the society. The government exerts efforts to enhance accessibility, yet there is still room for improvement. Many ways could be proposed to enhance accessibility. However, the impact of selected actions is hard to predict due to diversification and contra-diction, in addition to the continuous change of the system over time. Under this topic, we have analysed questionnaires collected via a couple of surveys on eGovernment measurement methods, in addition to administering another questionnaire and a sample of webpages to classify the Norwegian municipal website accessi-bility failures according to their original causes. Moreover, we have conducted a set of personal interviews with representatives from municipalities. The findings including factors affecting the accessibility of the municipal websites were compiled into an SD model, which is intended to support policymakers’ and website managers’ decisions, and to enhance their mental models. This SD model was also encapsulated in an ILE, which was used in an experiment with users. Results show that 80% of the experiment candidates have redefined certain knowledge as a result of using this ILE