Design an Optimum Highway Route using Remote Sensing Data and GIS-Based Least Cost Path Model, Case of Minya-Ras Ghareb and Minya-Wahat-Bawiti Highway Routes, Egypt

The traditional method of aligning highways is a tedious, time-consuming process, and needs a lot of manual work, expensive consuming and complicated process, where numerous environmental issues need to be addressed. The problem is exacerbated where the alignment is influenced by the location of services, existing roads, and buildings. Therefore, there is a great need to adopt new technologies that save time and money in designing and assessment of highway paths. Remote Sensing and GIS make the highway alignment most appropriate avoiding vulnerable high-risk zones such as sand dunes, stream crossing, fault zones, etc….in addition to considering environmental protection constraints and cost savings. It needs less manpower, less time consuming and less cost. In this context, a survey was conducted to determine the factors that affect the process of choosing the path of roads through the previous literature and a panel of experts. Minya Ras-Gharib road in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and Minya Wahat Bawiti road in the Western Desert of Egypt as a case study. Remotely sensing techniques, Landsat 8 and digital elevation models were used to produce land use maps, sand dunes, existing roads, slopes, and flood sites. In addition, thematic maps such as rock type, faults, protectorates. Cost factors were determined and cost surface for each factor was established, standardized, weighed and aggregated based on previous literature. A pairwise comparison is used to determine the weight of factors. These weighted factors /criteria maps were combined to create the least cost surface map. Four visions were modeled: an economic vision, an environmental vision, an equal vision, and economy only vision. A comparison was made between the four-route using the DEFINITE software.The equal-weights route was the best route. A comparison was made between the equal-weight route and the existing route.The results of the comparison show that the recommended route save about 48% for the road of Minya Ras Gharib and save about 33 % for the road of Minya Wahat Bawiti compared to the existing road, in addition to saving the time, effort and cost

Is it really a bonding, an avoidance, or a characteristics choice? An analysis of foreign listing on low versus high investor protection markets

We investigate the difference in the characteristics of firms that cross-list on high versus low investor protection markets. We find that civil law firms that cross-list on common law markets have higher growth rate, larger size and lower turnover pre cross-listing than their counterparts that cross-list on civil law markets. Also, we find that common law firms that cross-list on common law markets are larger and have a lower volume turnover than those that cross-list on civil law markets. Both groups experience a significant increase in their growth after cross-listing on common law markets. We also report that firms which have poor accounting standards, poor performance, are small in size, and from civil law countries are likely to cross-list on the US unregulated exchanges

Effect of fiber and solenoid variation parameters on the elements of a corrector PID for electromagnetic fiber squeezer based polarization controller

Controlling the polarization of the light output from single-mode fiber systems is very important for connecting it to polarization-dependent integrated optical circuits, while applications using a heterodyne detection system. Polarization controller using fiber squeezer is attractive for a low-loss, low-penalty coherent optical fiber trunk system. However, for polarization controllers using electromagnetic fiber squeezer, the stability problem due to the saturation of their magnetic circuit must be studied. In fact, in their conventional configuration, open-loop stability affects performance and limits applications. First at all, this effect has been analyzed and a feedback circuit with correctors has been proposed to improve stability performance. Then a simulation study is proposed to examine the influence of the system parameters on the corrector constants. The results of the simulation show that if the system parameters change the constants Kp, Ki and Kd of the PID corrector must be adjusted to keep an optimized dynamic response

Monitoring of solenoid parameters based on neural networks and optical fiber squeezer for solenoid valves diagnosis

As crucial parts of various engineering systems, solenoid valves (SVs) operated by electromagnetic solenoid (EMS) are of great importance and their failure may lead to cause unexpected casualties. This failure, characterized by a degradation of the performances of the SVs, could be due to a fluctuations in the EMS parameters. These fluctuations are essentially attributed to the changes in the spring constant, coefficient of friction, inductance, and the resistance of the coil. Preventive maintenance by controlling and monitoring these parameters is necessary to avoid eventual failure of these actuators. The authors propose a new methodology for the functional diagnosis of electromagnetic solenoids (EMS) used in hydraulic systems. The proposed method monitors online the electrical and mechanical parameters varying over time by using artificial neural networks algorithm coupled with an optical fiber polarization squeezer based on EMS for polarization scrambling. First, the MATLAB/Simulink model is proposed to analyze the effect of the parameters on the dynamic EMS model. The result of this simulation is used for training the neural network, then a simulation is proposed using the neural net fitting toolbox to determine the solenoid parameters (Resistance of the coil R, stiffness K and coefficient of friction B of the spring) from the coefficients of the transfer function, established from the model step response. Future work will include not only diagnosing failure modes, but also predicting the remaining life based on the results of monitoring

Geometrical optic learning difficulties for Moroccan students during secondary/university transition

To remedy the difficulties encountered by Moroccan students in geometrical optics during the transition from secondary to higher education and for an efficient education system, we propose this study to investigate the causes of these difficulties as well as their impact on the quality of the secondary/university transition, and come up with a remediation device to overcome them. For this survey, we adopted a mixed method to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The research tools used are semi-directive interviews with thirty high school and university teachers; questionnaires and exercises were administered to 120 of first year university students. The results of this study revealed the persistence of difficulties in geometrical optics and particularly in geometric construction whose origins are attributed to the misrepresentations and low prerequisites among students as well as a break in the curriculum and teaching methods during the transition from secondary to higher education

Design of a Bandpass Filter with an Absorptive Stopband for Multifeed Antenna Systems

This paper presents a filtering solution for enhanced multiband and multisource antenna systems used for space applications. Covering a large surface of the Earth necessitates numerous apertures closely spaced over a reflector antenna. Since these multi-feed systems generally employ multiple bands and multiple polarizations, these architectures induce significant coupling and consequently influence the effectiveness of the solution. The approach of signal retransmission with a controlled phase is proven to be efficient despite a delay concern. On the other hand, as shown in this paper, dissipating the reflected signal can also provide an adequate solution. For this second approach, we have synthesized a two-band filter, one passing the signal, the other absorbing it. This behaviour fits the desired antenna performance and improves the isolation between the two channels. We have designed such a filter and a comparison was made between the two approaches to investigate and derive the efficiency and benefit of each solution. A resized version of the microwave filter with dual behaviour has been manufactured and characterized for experimental verification

Augmented Reality Based Assisted Healthcare for Enhancing Medical Rescue and Doctor-Patient Consultations with AR-Headset

Technological progress in the healthcare sector has created new opportunities to enhance surgical precision and patient care. This study explores how augmented reality (AR) technology can help the medical industry close the gap between the digital and physical realms. AR has the potential to improve communication between doctors and patients, make complex medical information easier to understand, and help medical professionals diagnose and treat patients more successfully. It can reduce the need for printed pictures and diagrams by superimposing digital information onto a patient's body to provide surgeons a clearer understanding of the anatomy they are working on. The purpose of this research paper is to develop and deploy an assistive system that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to give medical professionals and rescue teams vital information. The solution smoothly combines digital data with the real-world perspective by integrating semi-transparent glasses into AR-Headsets. Enhancing patient-physician consultation and increasing the knowledge of complicated medical information is the main goal. The creation, application, and possible effects of this AR-based system in the healthcare sector are covered in this study

Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among the Lebanese University students: Associated risk factors and repercussion on mental health

Background: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a psychological illness characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in appearance. For individuals with BDD, these perceived defects are significant and prominent, leading to emotional distress, depression, anxiety, and impairment in daily functioning. Despite its impact, no prior studies have explored the prevalence of BDD among Lebanese university students. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of BDD and investigate its association with mental health status (depression and anxiety), religiosity, eating disorder risk, and self-esteem among Lebanese University students.  Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2020, involving students from the Lebanese University. Data were collected using the dysmorphic concern questionnaire (DCQ), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE), religiosity scale, patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder assessment (GAD-7), Eating Attitude test-26 scale (EAT-26). Results: A total of 6448 participants were enrolled in our study. The overall prevalence of BDD among university students was (6.4%).Our results showed that Lebanese students with BDD were more likely to have anxiety ORadj 1.3 (95% CI:1.2-1.7) p-value 0.001, depression ORadj 1.2 (95% C:1.15-1.5) p-value 0.007, and eating disorder (Bulimia & Food preoccupation ORadj 1.06 (95% CI:1.03-1.2) P-value 0.0, and oral control ORadj 1.09 (95% CI:1.05-1.1)  P-value < 0.001) compared to those with no BDD. We also found that students with BDD had Lower Self-esteem ORadj 0.88 (95%CI: 0.78-0.9) P-value <0.001), and less likely to be religious ORadj 0.88 (95%CI: 0.82-0.9) P-value 0.02) compared to those with no BDD. Conclusion: This pioneering study in Lebanon sheds light on the prevalence of BDD among Lebanese university students and its associated factors. BDD was found to be significantly linked to elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, along with lower levels of self-esteem and religiosity. These findings underscore the importance of early detection of BDD during adolescence and young adulthood, necessitating timely psychological intervention to prevent chronicity and complications. Moreover, promoting widespread awareness through various social media and public platforms is essential to address this psychological issue effectively

تقييم معدل انتشار الاكتئاب والقلق والضغط النفسي لدى العاملين بأقسام الطب النفسي في سلطنة عمان وعلاقته ببعض المتغيرات

الملخص: هدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى الكشف عن مدى انتشار الاكتئاب والقلق والضغط النفسي لدى العاملين بأقسام الطب النفسي في سلطنة عمان، كما هدفت إلى معرفة الفروق في متغيرات: الجنس، المؤهل الأكاديمي، المسمى الوظيفي، التخصص، الخبرة. تكون مجتمع البحث من العاملين بأقسام الطب النفسي والبالغ عددهم (52) عاملاً، حيث كان عدد الأطباء (16)، وعدد الأخصائيين (28)، وعدد الممرضين (6)، ولمعالجة البيانات استخدم الباحث معامل ألفا كرونباخ، والنسب المئوية، والمتوسطات الحسابية. الكلمات المفتاحية: الاكتئاب، القلق، الضغط النفسي، أقسام الطب النفسي