Developing an Ecosystem Framework to Explore ICT Contribution to Socio-economic Development; An Empirical Analysis in MENA Region

Information communication technology (ICT) is often considered as one of the main drivers and enablers of development in both developed & developing countries. Considering different aspects of ICT contribution to development like social, economic, cultural and political impacts, all these aspects should be noted simultaneously in exploring interactions between ICT and development. Furthermore, existing literature on ICT development is so fragmented in developing countries especially countries located in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. To narrow this literature gap, there is a need for an integrated and comprehensive framework that would explain the contribution of ICT to socio-economic development in MENA region by taking advantage of ecosystem perspective. The ecosystem perspective is valuable in grasping all the contextual factors, interactions and ICT entities which cause ICT-based socio-economic development. In addition to need for a comprehensive model to understand the relations between ICT and socio-economic development by ecosystem insight, on the other hand the scarce of relevant researches which have been addressed to both disruptive and progressive transformation impacts of ICT in MENA countries make this sort of study timely and worthwhile. Hence, the main objective of this research is to explore ICT contribution to socio-economic development in MENA countries through developing an ecosystem framework labeled as \u201cICT-based socio economic development (ISED) ecosystem framework\u201d. To develop ISED ecosystem framework three research questions were defined. These research questions are as follows: 1. What are the main elements (pillars and sub-pillars) of ISED ecosystem framework? 2. What are the appropriate indicators to measure sub-pillars of ISED ecosystem framework? 3. How do sub-pillars of ISED ecosystem framework vary in selected countries of MENA region? Based on both qualitative and quantitative analyses, this study investigates ICT contribution to socio-economic development across 17 selected MENA countries including: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. To address first two research questions grounded theory research method and Delphi research method are employed. For third research question, guidelines of constructing composite index and correlation analysis are applied. In this way four sub-pillars concerning key ICT Entities which are interacting in a particular context have been determined. Also, six sub-pillars considering contextual factors (Capital Portfolio) which play key roles in obtaining particular level of ICT-based socio-economic development (ISED) have been defined. Moreover, the appropriate indicators in each sub-pillars were determined to measure these 10 sub-pillars in 17 MENA countries. The empirical analyses unveil that there are a huge intra-regional gap in MENA region considering various sub-pillars of ISED ecosystem framework. Moreover, the correlation analysis shows that the 10 sub-pillars of ISED ecosystem framework are strongly and positively correlated. The sub-pillars of ICT entity (IE) alone are not enough to allow ICTs to show fully their potential. It means that the six sub-pillars of capital portfolio (CP) that reflect the status quo of a nation play significant role to allow ICTs to appear their full potential. In other words, the serious weaknesses on 6 sub-pillars of contextual factors across MENA region hinder the overall potential of this region to leverage ICT entities to improve the level of ICT-based socio-economic development

Prevalence of Sleep Deprivation and Relation with Depressive Symptoms among Medical Residents in King Fahd University Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: Sleep deprivation is common among medical residents of all specialties. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sleep deprivation and depressive symptoms among medical residents in King Fahd University Hospital (KFUH) in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the association between sleep deprivation, sleepiness and depressive symptoms was examined. Methods: This cross-sectional study took place between February and April 2012 and involved 171 KFUH medical residents of different specialties. Data were collected using a specifically designed questionnaire eliciting demographic information, working hours and number of hours of sleep. In addition, validated Arabic versions of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory-2 (BDI-2) were used. Results: The prevalence of acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation among residents in KFUH was 85.9% and 63.2%, respectively. The prevalence of overall sleepiness was 52%; 43.3% reported being excessively sleepy in certain situations while 8.8% reported being excessively sleepy regardless of the situation. Based on the BDI-2, the prevalence of mild, moderate and severe depressive symptoms was 43.3%, 15.2% and 4.7%, respectively. Significant associations were found between sleep deprivation and depressive symptoms; depressive symptoms and sleepiness, and depressive symptoms and being a female resident. Conclusion: The vast majority of medical residents had acute sleep deprivation, with more than half suffering from chronic sleep deprivation. The number of hours and quality of sleep among the residents were strongly associated with depressive symptoms. New regulations are recommended regarding the number of working hours and night duties for medical residents. Further studies should assess these new regulations on a regular basis

Formal Solutions of Completely Integrable {Pfaffian} Systems With Normal Crossings

In this paper, we present an algorithm for computing a fundamental matrix of formal solutions of completely integrable Pfaffian systems with normal crossings in several variables. This algorithm is a generalization of a method developed for the bivariate case based on a combination of several reduction techniques and is implemented in the computer algebra system Maple

Torrential rain forecast using the mesoscale model WRF-ARW

Annotation. Using a mesoscale model WRF-ARW1we made a torrential rain episode forecast on January 5-6, 2014 in the province of Khuzestan (Iran) with an advance time of 24, 48 and 72 hours. To find an optimal scheme of forecast we made numerical experiments with six sets of physical parameterizations. During the numerical experiments we were able to identify that the model showed the most sensitivity to cloudiness parameterization. The rating of a forecast made on an independent material showed that the used set of parameterizations of the model WRF-ARW allows to give satisfactory forecasts of heavy rainfall with an advance time of 24 hours

Educational difference in the prevalence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women: a study in northern Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease in the world and it is rapidly increasing in Iran. In this study the relationship between educational levels and osteoporosis was investigated among Iranian postmenopausal women.</p> <p>Method and subjects</p> <p>Seven hundred and six women aged 50-75 years old were randomly recruited from urban (<it>n </it>= 440) and rural (<it>n </it>= 266) areas in Guilan. Osteoporosis was diagnosed by quantitative ultrasound technique and dual X-ray absorptiometry. Serum 25(OH) D3, body weight and height were measured in all subjects. Other data including age, educational level, menopause age, medications and history of illness were also collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the prevalence of osteoporosis was significantly greater among women with low educational level than women with high educational status (18.0% vs 3.8% <it>P </it>< 0.0001). However, women with low educational level had higher mean serum level of vitamin D than women with high educational level. Osteoporosis was significantly more prevalent among women living in rural areas than women living in urban areas (19.1% v.s 13.3%, <it>P </it>< 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that educational level is associated with bone health in this population of postmenopausal women with significantly higher osteoporosis found in lower social groups. Therefore, we suggest that women with low social level should be carefully evaluated for signs of osteoporosis during routine physical examinations.</p

Non-Invasive Data Acquisition and IoT Solution for Human Vital Signs Monitoring: Applications, Limitations and Future Prospects

The rapid development of technology has brought about a revolution in healthcare stimulating a wide range of smart and autonomous applications in homes, clinics, surgeries and hospitals. Smart healthcare opens the opportunity for a qualitative advance in the relations between healthcare providers and end-users for the provision of healthcare such as enabling doctors to diagnose remotely while optimizing the accuracy of the diagnosis and maximizing the benefits of treatment by enabling close patient monitoring. This paper presents a comprehensive review of non-invasive vital data acquisition and the Internet of Things in healthcare informatics and thus reports the challenges in healthcare informatics and suggests future work that would lead to solutions to address the open challenges in IoT and non-invasive vital data acquisition. In particular, the conducted review has revealed that there has been a daunting challenge in the development of multi-frequency vital IoT systems, and addressing this issue will help enable the vital IoT node to be reachable by the broker in multiple area ranges. Furthermore, the utilization of multi-camera systems has proven its high potential to increase the accuracy of vital data acquisition, but the implementation of such systems has not been fully developed with unfilled gaps to be bridged. Moreover, the application of deep learning to the real-time analysis of vital data on the node/edge side will enable optimal, instant offline decision making. Finally, the synergistic integration of reliable power management and energy harvesting systems into non-invasive data acquisition has been omitted so far, and the successful implementation of such systems will lead to a smart, robust, sustainable and self-powered healthcare system

Estimating fermentation characteristics and nutritive value of ensiled and dried pomegranate seeds for ruminants using in vitro gas production technique

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition and estimation of fermentation characteristics and nutritive value of ensiled and dried pomegranate seeds using in vitro gas production technique. Samples were collected, mixed, processed (ensiled and dried) and incubated in vitro with rumen liquor taken from three fistulated Iranian native (Taleshi) steers at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 h. The results showed that ensiling lead to significant increase in gas production of pomegranate seeds at all incubation times. The gas volume at 24 h incubation, were 25.76 and 17.91 ml/200mg DM for ensiled and dried pomegranate seeds, respectively. The gas production rate (c) also was significantly higher for ensiled groups than dried (0.0930 vs. 0.0643 ml/h). The organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME), net energy for lactation (NEL) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) of ensiled pomegranate seeds were significantly higher than that of dried samples (43.15%, 6.37 MJ/kg DM, 4.43 MJ/kg DM, 0.5553 mmol for ensiled samples vs. 34.62%, 5.10 MJ/kg DM, 3.56 MJ/kg DM, 0.3680 mmol for dried samples, respectively). It can be concluded that ensiling increases the nutritive value of pomegranate seeds

Obese and female adolescents skip breakfast more than their non-obese and male peers

We examined the association between overweight/gender and skipping breakfast among adolescent students in Tehran city using a cross-sectional study and a multistage random sampling method. All educational zones in Tehran city were covered during the educational year of 2000-01. In total, 2321 students aged 11-16 years (1068 male; 1263 female) participated in the study. Weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) was calculated. Overweight, pre-obesity and obesity were defined as BMI � 85 th , 85 th to 95 th , and � 95 th percentile of age-sex-specific BMI reference values, respectively. Self-reported frequency of breakfast consumption was categorized as usual/always, often, and rarely/never (5-7, 2-4 and 0-1 times/wk, respectively). Student's t and Chi-square tests were employed to analyze the data. Statistical inferences were made at α = 0.05. In boys and girls, the mean ± standard deviation of BMI was 19.8 ± 4.0 and 20.6 ± 4.1 kg/m2, the 18.8 and 23.1 were overweight, and 7.3 and 8.3 were obese, respectively. There was a significant difference in the frequency of breakfast consumption between obese and normal male students (P &lt; 0.001). Differences between pre-obese and normal, and obese and normal female students were also significant (P &lt; 0.002 and P &lt; 0.001, respectively). A significant difference was found in the frequency of breakfast consumption between male and female adolescents in all three categories (P &lt; 0.001). These results suggest that obese and female adolescents are more likely to skip breakfast than their normal and male peers and are therefore at higher risk for growth deficits and low educational performance. Preventive/educational programs are urgently needed in this age group. © 2007 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag

Bone mineral density, body mass index and cigarette smoking among Iranian women: implications for prevention

BACKGROUND: While risk factors of osteoporosis in Western populations have been extensively documented, such a profile has not been well studied in Caucasians of non-European origin. This study was designed to estimate the modifiable distribution and determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) among Iranian women in Australia. METHODS: Ninety women aged 35 years and older completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) using DXA (GE Lunar, WI, USA), and was expressed in g/cm(2 )as well as T-score. RESULTS: In multiple regression analysis, advancing age, lower body mass index (BMI), and smoking were independently associated with LS and FN BMD, with the 3 factors collectively accounting for 30% and 38% variance of LS and FN BMD, respectively. LS and FN BMD in smokers was 8% lower than that in non-smokers. Further analysis of interaction between BMI and smoking revealed that the effect of smoking was only observed in the obese group (p = 0.029 for LSBMD and p = 0.007 for FNBMD), but not in the overweight and normal groups. Using T-scores from two bone sites the prevalence of osteoporosis (T-scores ≤ -2.5) was 3.8% and 26.3% in pre-and post-menopausal women, respectively. Among current smokers, the prevalence was higher (31.3%) than that among ex-smokers (28.6%) and non-smokers (7.5%). CONCLUSION: These data, for the first time, indicate that apart from advancing age and lower body mass index, cigarette smoking is an important modifiable determinant of bone mineral density in these Caucasians of non-European origin