Writing Condition and Electronic Arbitration A Comparative Study

This research is concerned with the issue of writing the arbitration agreement which is a formal condition required by the comparative legislation to conclude the arbitration agreement. Its purpose is to identify all the legal aspects of this condition and demonstrate its concept, nature and aspects. Then a question about the extent of the need for the traditional writing condition for the electronic arbitration agreement to be legal and correct is raised out with respect to showing the concept of this kind of arbitration. Namely, how the writing condition is satisfied within it and what the required conditions for the electronic signature are so that the electronic arbitration agreement is effective and valid. This is done through a comparative study between the laws of each of Jordan, Egypt and England and the relevant international agreements and laws that treat this issue. This research has been divided into an introduction and two parts. In the first part, we tackled the writing condition, its writing aspects and nature; and in the second part we looked into the condition of writing the electronic arbitration agreement. Finally, the conclusions and the recommendations have been presented

Content Replication and Placement Schemes for Wireless Mesh Networks

Recently, Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have attracted much of interest from both academia and industry, due to their potential to provide an alternative broadband wireless Internet connectivity. However, due to different reasons such as multi-hop forwarding and the dynamic wireless link characteristics, the performance of current WMNs is rather low when clients are soliciting Web contents. Due to the evolution of advanced mobile computing devices; it is anticipated that the demand for bandwidth-onerous popular content (especially multimedia content) in WMNs will dramatically increase in the coming future. Content replication is a popular approach for outsourcing content on behalf of the origin content provider. This area has been well explored in the context of the wired Internet, but has received comparatively less attention from the research community when it comes to WMNs. There are a number of replica placement algorithms that are specifically designed for the Internet. But they do not consider the special features of wireless networks such as insufficient bandwidth, low server capacity, contention to access the wireless medium, etc. This thesis studies the technical challenges encountered when transforming the traditional model of multi-hop WMNs from an access network into a content network. We advance the thesis that support from packet relaying mesh routers to act as replica servers for popular content such as media streaming, results in significant performance improvement. Such support from infrastructure mesh routers benefits from knowledge of the underlying network topology (i.e., information about the physical connections between network nodes is available at mesh routers). The utilization of cross-layer information from lower layers opens the door to developing efficient replication schemes that account for the specific features of WMNs (e.g., contention between the nodes to access the wireless medium and traffic interference). Moreover, this can benefit from the underutilized resources (e.g., storage and bandwidth) at mesh routers. This utilization enables those infrastructure nodes to participate in content distribution and play the role of replica servers. In this thesis, our main contribution is the design of two lightweight, distributed, and scalable object replication schemes for WMNs. The first scheme follows a hierarchical approach, while the second scheme follows a flat one. The challenge is to replicate content as close as possible to the requesting clients and thus, reduce the access latency per object, while minimizing the number of replicas. The two schemes aim to address the questions of where and how many replicas should be placed in the WMN. In our schemes, we consider the underlying topology joint with link-quality metrics to improve the quality of experience. We show using simulation tests that the schemes significantly enhance the performance of a WMN in terms of reducing the access cost, bandwidth consumption and computation/communication cost

Caractérisation d'une cellule de mesure électro-acoustique-pulsée pour la qualification électrostatique des diélectriques spatiaux : modélisation électro-acoustique et traitement du signal

La structure externe des satellites en orbite, composée de matériaux polymères, est exposée continument à des particules chargées induisant des potentiels à l'origine des Décharges Electrostatiques - ESD. Plusieurs techniques sont actuellement utilisées pour sonder la charge d'espace dans les matériaux diélectriques, une de ces techniques est la méthode électro-acoustique pulsée - PEA (Pulsed Electro-Acoustic). Cette méthode consiste en la détection des ondes acoustiques générées par la charge d'espace sous l'effet coulombien d'une impulsion de champ électrique appliqué. Après un traitement numérique adéquat, la distribution de la charge d'espace en fonction de la profondeur de l'échantillon est établie. L'un des inconvénients de cette technique pour la caractérisation des matériaux spatiaux est sa résolution spatiale, environ 10 µm. En effet, les matériaux diélectriques utilisés dans les structures satellites ont une épaisseur comprise entre 50 et 75µm. L'objectif de cette thèse consiste donc à concevoir une cellule de mesure de la charge d'espace avec une résolution spatiale suffisante pour analyser le comportement des charges dans des matériaux spatiaux, environ 1 µm. Ce projet finalisé permettra de disposer d'un outil de mesure parfaitement maitrisé en terme de limite en résolution et comprendre ainsi l'origine des artefacts présents généralement dans la mesure et ainsi éviter toute interprétation de phénomènes considérés comme physique mais qui sont, en réalité, uniquement la manifestation d'un défaut de la chaine de mesure.Dielectric materials are frequently used in satellite structures as a thermal blanket. Subjected to an electron irradiation - space environment - they can cause in-orbit satellite anomalies. One of these aspects is the charge accumulation due to the flux of space charged particles, and particularly to electrons. This accumulation increases the local electric field in the material bulk and can lead to an Electrostatic Surface Discharge - ESD. This phenomenon could cause serious damage to the satellite structure or performance. In order to have a better control on the discharge it is necessary to clarify; the nature, position and quantity of stored charges with time and to understand the dynamics of the charge transport in solid dielectrics. The Pulsed-Electro Acoustic - PEA method allows us to obtain these features, like the spatial distribution of space charges. One of the weaknesses of this current technique is spatial resolution, about 10 µm. Dielectric materials used in satellite structures have a thickness of 50 and 75 µm. This work aims at improving the spatial resolution for the PEA method. Whatever measurement principle considered, the best spatial resolution achievable is 10µm. This is a drawback when considering rather thin insulating layers (order of tens of microns), as the case in some capacitors or films on outer parts of satellites. Also, a better resolution (1µm) is expected to provide a better description of charge generation in insulation at metal dielectric interfaces or under low energy electron beams

Metabolomics distinguishes DOCK8 deficiency from atopic dermatitis: towards a biomarker discovery

Bi-allelic mutations in the dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) are responsible for a rare autosomal recessive primary combined immunodeficiency syndrome, characterized by atopic dermatitis, elevated serum Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, recurrent severe cutaneous viral infections, autoimmunity, and predisposition to malignancy. The molecular link between DOCK8 deficiency and atopic skin inflammation remains unknown. Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) and DOCK8 deficiency share some clinical symptoms, including eczema, eosinophilia, and increased serum IgE levels. Increased serum IgE levels are characteristic of, but not specific to allergic diseases. Herein, we aimed to study the metabolomic profiles of DOCK8-deficient and AD patients for potential disease-specific biomarkers using chemical isotope labeling liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (CIL LC-MS). Serum samples were collected from DOCK8-deficient (n = 10) and AD (n = 9) patients. Metabolomics profiling using CIL LC-MS was performed on patient samples and compared to unrelated healthy controls (n = 33). Seven metabolites were positively identified, distinguishing DOCK8-deficient from AD patients. Aspartic acid and 3-hydroxyanthranillic acid (3HAA, a tryptophan degradation pathway intermediate) were up-regulated in DOCK8 deficiency, whereas hypotaurine, leucyl-phenylalanine, glycyl-phenylalanine, and guanosine were down-regulated. Hypotaurine, 3-hydroxyanthranillic acid, and glycyl-phenyalanine were identified as potential biomarkers specific to DOCK8 deficiency. Aspartate availability has been recently implicated as a limiting metabolite for tumour growth and 3HAA; furthermore, other tryptophan metabolism pathway-related molecules have been considered as potential novel targets for cancer therapy. Taken together, perturbations in tryptophan degradation and increased availability of aspartate suggest a link of DOCK8 deficiency to oncogenesis. Additionally, perturbations in taurine and dipeptides metabolism suggest altered antixidation and cell signaling states in DOCK8 deficiency. Further studies examining the mechanisms underlying these observations are necessary

Energy efficiency and traffic offloading in wireless mesh networks with delay bounds

In this paper, we study a wireless access network based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11 standard and enriched with features such as caching and mesh networking. This system is analysed in terms of energy efficiency and traffic offloading, two objectives that are somewhat in contrast but both relevant to network and service providers as they directly impact the operational cost. In addition, QoS is also accounted for in the form of guaranteed bandwidth and bounded delay. To this aim, we developed a mathematical model of the system and solved it to optimality by means of integer linear programming. We can thus show how much can be saved both in terms of energy and traffic, also considering various tradeoff points among the two contrasting objectives. As a last step, we provide an investigation on the benefits of adding traffic aggregation features to the mathematical model

Tentorial dural arteriovenous fistulae presenting as transient ischemic attack: Case illustration

Dural arteriovenous fistulae are vascular lesions of the dura mater, usually acquired, consisting of abnormal connections between the dural arteries with the venous sinuses or the cortical veins. A case report presents a case with an unusual form of presentation of the dural (tentorial) arterio-venous fistula simulating a transient ischemic attack in a 60-year-old male patient

An in vivo study of the host response to starch-based polymers and composites subcutaneously implanted in rats

Implant failure is one of the major concerns in the biomaterials field. Several factors have been related to the fail but in general these biomaterials do not exhibit comparable physical, chemical or biological properties to natural tissues and ultimately, these devices can lead to chronic inflammation and foreign-body reactions. Starch-based biodegradable materials and composites have shown promising properties for a wide range of biomedical applications as well as a reduced capacity to elicit a strong reaction from immune system cells in vitro. In this work, blends of corn starch with ethylene vinyl alcohol (SEVA-C), cellulose acetate (SCA) and polycaprolactone (SPCL), as well as hydroxyapatite (HA) reinforced starch-based composites, were investigated in vivo. The aim of the work was to assess the host response evoked for starch-based biomaterials, identifying the presence of key cell types. The tissues surrounding the implant were harvested together with the material and processed histologically for evaluation using immunohistochemistry. At implant retrieval there was no cellular exudate around the implants and no macroscopic signs of an inflammatory reaction in any of the animals. The histological analysis of the sectioned interface tissue after immunohistochemical staining using ED1, ED2, CD54, MHC class II and a/b antibodies showed positively stained cells for all antibodies, except for a/b for all the implantation periods, where it was different for the various polymers and for the period of implantation. SPCL and SCA composites were the materials that stimulated the greatest cellular tissue responses, but generally biodegradable starch-based materials did not induce a severe reaction for the studied implantation times, which contrasts with other types of degradable polymeric biomaterials.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Molecular characterization of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient variants in Baghdad city - Iraq

Background: Although G6PD deficiency is the most common genetically determined blood disorder among Iraqis, its molecular basis has only recently been studied among the Kurds in North Iraq, while studies focusing on Arabs in other parts of Iraq are still absent. Methods: A total of 1810 apparently healthy adult male blood donors were randomly recruited from the national blood transfusion center in Baghdad. They were classified into G6PD deficient and non-deficient individuals based on the results of methemoglobin reduction test (MHRT), with confirmation of deficiency by subsequent enzyme assays. DNA from deficient individuals was studied using a polymerase chain reaction-Restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for four deficient molecular variants, namely G6PD Mediterranean (563 C®T), Chatham (1003 G®A), A- (202 G®A) and Aures (143 T®C). A subset of those with the Mediterranean variant, were further investigated for the 1311 (C®T) silent mutation. Results: G6PD deficiency was detected in 109 of the 1810 screened male individuals (6.0%). Among 101 G6PD deficient males molecularly studied, the Mediterranean mutation was detected in 75 cases (74.3%), G6PD Chatham in 5 cases (5.0%), G6PD A- in two cases (2.0%), and G6PD Aures in none. The 1311 silent mutation was detected in 48 out of the 51 G6PD deficient males with the Mediterranean variant studied (94.1%). Conclusions: Three polymorphic variants namely: the Mediterranean, Chatham and A-, constituted more than 80% of G6PD deficient variants among males in Baghdad. Iraq. This observation is to some extent comparable to othe

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin