793 research outputs found

    Why has Egypt been under emergency rule for the past hundred years?

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    Egypt has been under a permanent state of emergency for nearly 100 years. This thesis aims at exploring and understanding Egyptian emergency law and its contextual background. It uses a combination of historical and theoretical perspectives to explore how Egypt’s emergency law has developed since its introduction by Britain to the present day. Chapter two examines theories of emergency powers and the failure of traditional theories of emergency powers to explain and justify the permanent state of emergency in Egypt. Chapter three discusses British imperialism in Egypt to show how Britain introduced and enshrined martial law in Egypt’s constitution, as well as other laws, to protect Britain’s political and economic interests in Egypt. Chapter four examines the legal framework of emergency law developed in Egypt after Britain’s departure to show how emergency law developed and expanded from a temporary measure to a permanent one. Chapter five explores the major human rights violations that occurred during, and as a direct result of, the use of a state of emergency. Chapter six examines contemporary imperialism to show how economic pressure from neo-imperialist organisations is used as a tool to enforce certain economic and political ideologies and policies. Further, it examines the resulting increased poverty in developing nations and the subsequent uprisings that occur. This study further explores how different political regimes use such uprisings as justification for using the force that is permitted under a state of emergency. Chapter seven explores how a minority group of elites have used the permanent state of emergency in Egypt to protect their political and economic interests. The research concludes that, given Egypt’s history, it would be naïve to believe that formal constitutional or legal constraints could protect the population from dictatorial ‘emergency’ forms of rule. Further, given the country’s record of colonial and neo-colonial oppression, it is unrealistic to conclude that the solutions lie in Egypt alone. As a result of these conclusions, this thesis recommends social equality, new forms of genuinely participatory democracy, democratic control over all aspects of life (including production, finance and key levers of the economy), guarantees of basic social rights such as education and health, and guarantees of core legal rights such as habeas corpus, open civilian trials and the presumption of innocence

    Treatment of Olive mill Wastewater by ozonation and electrocoagulation processes

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    The main purpose of this paper  was to investigate the removal of total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) for olive mill wastewater (OMW) by the combination of electrocoagulation (EC) and the ozonation process. In the combination of electrocoagulation followed by ozonation process the optimum working pH was found to be in range 6. The efficiency of the electrocoagulation process allowed removal of TSS and COD about 82.5% and 47.5% respectively at 45mA/cm2 after 70 minutes by using coupled iron–aluminum electrodes. These results showed that the optimum TSS and COD removal was obtained at the optimum experimental parameters such as current density, pH, and reaction time. After EC, most organic compounds still remained in the effluent. The subsequent ozonation shows high levels of organic compound elimination. The obtained TSS and COD values: 31.1g/L and 67.3 g/L for the sample from the olive mill, 5.4  g/L and  35.35  g/L after EC   and  5.4  g/L and  2.6  g/L  respectively after ozonation. Keywords: olive mill wastewater; Electrode; Electrocoagulation  (EC);TSS;COD; ozonatio

    Pain management in hospitals: patients’ satisfaction and related barriers

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    Background: Suboptimal pain control has been frequently reported in healthcare settings and documented to negatively impact patients’ health. Patients’ perception regarding pain management may influence their satisfaction regarding treatment. Objectives: This study focuses on the assessment of patients’ satisfaction regarding pain therapy and defining patient-related barriers for its implication. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals from April till July 2017. A face-to face interview questionnaire was filled regarding pain scores and patients’ attitudes regarding pain management. Both medical and post-surgical adult patients with all types of pain were eligible to participate. A descriptive analysis of patient satisfaction and perceptions regarding pain management was done. Results: Results from 183 participants with a mean age of 49 (SD=17.33) revealed that pain was their main reason for hospitalization (71.6% of the cases). Numeric pain scores were recorded only in 14.2% of the patient medical files. Pain intensity documentation by healthcare professionals was found in 41.5% of the cases, and 7.7% of the patients had to wait for more than 30 minutes before getting the pain medication. Around 85% of the patients were satisfied with their pain management. Patients’ barriers to effective pain therapy were mainly fear of adverse effects, addiction, and additional costs (p<0.05). Conclusions: Pain remains a prevalent problem that requires more efforts for improvement. Our study can effectively serve as a start for larger studies where barriers to pain management can be assessed as an independent variable affecting pain management practice

    Characterization of uncertainties in atmospheric trace gas inversions using hierarchical Bayesian methods

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    We present a hierarchical Bayesian method for atmospheric trace gas inversions. This method is used to estimate emissions of trace gases as well as "hyper-parameters" that characterize the probability density functions (PDFs) of the a priori emissions and model-measurement covariances. By exploring the space of "uncertainties in uncertainties", we show that the hierarchical method results in a more complete estimation of emissions and their uncertainties than traditional Bayesian inversions, which rely heavily on expert judgment. We present an analysis that shows the effect of including hyper-parameters, which are themselves informed by the data, and show that this method can serve to reduce the effect of errors in assumptions made about the a priori emissions and model-measurement uncertainties. We then apply this method to the estimation of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions over 2012 for the regions surrounding four Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) stations. We find that improper accounting of model representation uncertainties, in particular, can lead to the derivation of emissions and associated uncertainties that are unrealistic and show that those derived using the hierarchical method are likely to be more representative of the true uncertainties in the system. We demonstrate through this SF6 case study that this method is less sensitive to outliers in the data and to subjective assumptions about a priori emissions and model-measurement uncertainties than traditional methods

    Upper critical field divergence induced by mesoscopic phase separation in the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ReO4

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    Due to the competition of two anion orders, (TMTSF)2ReO4, presents a phase coexistence between semiconducting and metallic (superconducting) regions (filaments or droplets) in a wide range of pressure. In this regime, the superconducting upper critical field for H parallel to both c* and b' axes present a linear part at low fields followed by a divergence above a cross-over field. This cross-over corresponds to the 3D-2D decoupling transition expected in filamentary or granular superconductors. The sharpness of the transition also demonstrates that all filaments are of similar sizes and self organize in a very ordered way. The distance between the filaments and their cross-section are estimated.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

    Recent and future trends in synthetic greenhouse gas radiative forcing

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    Atmospheric measurements show that emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons are now the primary drivers of the positive growth in synthetic greenhouse gas (SGHG) radiative forcing. We infer recent SGHG emissions and examine the impact of future emissions scenarios, with a particular focus on proposals to reduce HFC use under the Montreal Protocol. If these proposals are implemented, overall SGHG radiative forcing could peak at around 355 mW m[superscript −2] in 2020, before declining by approximately 26% by 2050, despite continued growth of fully fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to “no HFC policy” projections, this amounts to a reduction in radiative forcing of between 50 and 240 mW m[superscript −2] by 2050 or a cumulative emissions saving equivalent to 0.5 to 2.8 years of CO2 emissions at current levels. However, more complete reporting of global HFC emissions is required, as less than half of global emissions are currently accounted for.Natural Environment Research Council (Great Britain) (Advanced Research Fellowship NE/I021365/1)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Upper Atmospheric Research Program Grant NNX11AF17G)United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administratio

    Knowledge and Attitudes of Young People toward Mental Illness: A Cross Sectional Study

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    The aim of the study was to investigate young Jordanians’ knowledge and attitudes toward people who have a mental illness. A cross sectional design was utilized. A convenient sample of 858 participants aged between 15–24 years old completed a survey. Participants under 19 years were accessed through their schools and those 19 years and above were accessed through universities. Results showed that although the majority of university and school students’ responses were generally consistent, they disagreed on 11 items on the survey; for example, 186 (39.3%) of university students agreed that mental illness has a biological origin compared with only 119 (30%) of school students. The majority of young people 737 (85.9%) were willing to learn and 792 (92.3%) felt that they have to help people with mental illness, which make them willing to learn. In conclusion, the findings provide insights for decision makers and researchers in Jordan about young peoples’ knowledge and attitudes toward mental illness. Increasing young adults’ literacy through introducing educational programs such as mental health first aid courses will enrich their knowledge; help change attitudes and reduce stigma toward people living with mental illness

    Selective arterialization of a cardiac vein in a model of cardiac microangiopathy and macroangiopathy in sheep

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    ObjectiveSome patients with significant arteriosclerosis of the heart are not amenable to revascularization of a coronary artery because they have a combination of microangiopathy and significant macroangiopathy. We investigated the benefit of arterialization of a cardiac vein under these circumstances in an acute animal model.MethodsIn the hearts of 8 sheep, microspheres were injected into the left coronary artery; 60 minutes later, a stenosis of the left anterior descending artery was performed. After 45 minutes, retrograde venous revascularization was performed by sewing the left internal thoracic artery to the concomitant vein of the left anterior descending artery in a beating-heart technique. For flow reversal, the vein was ligated proximally to the anastomosis. The efficiency of the bypass graft was evaluated by coronary angiography and flow measurement. Cardiac output, electrocardiography, and mean arterial blood pressure were assessed in each phase of the experiment.ResultsThe ischemic state of the myocardium was confirmed by a significant decrease of cardiac output, stroke volume, and mean arterial blood pressure, and a significant elevation of the ST segment in the electrocardiography. After retrograde venous revascularization was established, cardiac output and stroke volume increased and ST elevations decreased. The grafts showed adequate flow (26.15 ± 2.08 mL/min), and reversed blood flow in the grafted vein was proved by coronary angiography.ConclusionRetrograde venous revascularization is possible and improves cardiac function in a state of acute ischemia caused by a combination of microangiopathy and macroangiopathy
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