Search

Purpose: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of innovative approaches and customer loyalty among retail business in Gabes Town. Methodology: The study used descriptive research design in the collection of data. The target population was drawn from four hundred and fifty retail business in Gabes town. Through Stratified proportionate random Sampling technique a total of one hundred and thirty five respondents was obtained. Results: Differentiation is a viable strategy for earning above average returns in a specific business because the resulting brand loyalty lowers customers’ sensitivity to price. Differentiation creates a better entry barrier. Retail business in Gabes town use focus strategy on a particular buyer group, product segment, or geographical market. Conclusion: This study concluded that cost leadership strategy, requires a continuous search for cost reductions in all aspects of the business. Recommendation: The study recommended that retail business in Gabes town should ensure continued capital investment to maintain cost advantage through economies of scale and market share. The study also recommended that the businesses should develop cheaper ways to produce existing products.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) and significant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have been markedly reduced over the last couple of decades as a result of the advances in pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. Primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) plays an important role in the treatment of patients at risk of SCD caused by ventricular arrhythmias. However, the arrhythmic risk stratification in patients with DCM remains extremely challenging, and the decision for primary prevention ICD implantation based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) solely appears to be insufficient. This review provides an update on current evidence for primary prevention ICD implantation, arrhythmic risk stratification, and left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) prediction in patients with DCM in addition to most recent guideline recommendations for primary prevention ICD implantation in DCM patients and a proposed multiparametric algorithm based on arrhythmic risk stratification and left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) prediction to better identify patients who are likely to benefit from primary prevention ICD.

Livestock industry is an essential part of Pakistan's economy, and a variety of ruminants (including sheep and goats) are reared for the increasing demand of milk, meat and hide products. Haemoparasitic illnesses such as

The natural resources of Ethiopian high-altitude ecosystems are commonly perceived as increasingly threatened by devastating land-use practices owing to decreasing lowland resources. Quantified time-series data of the course of land-use cover changes are still needed. Very high-resolution digital data on the historical landscape over the recent decades are needed for determining the impacts of changes in afro-alpine ecosystems. However, digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthomosaics do not exist for most afro-alpine ecosystems of Africa. We processed the only available and oldest historical aerial photographs for Ethiopia and, to the best of our knowledge, for any afro-alpine ecosystem. Here, we provide both DEM and orthomosaic images for the years 1967 and 1984 for the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia, which comprise the largest afro-alpine ecosystem in Africa. We used 298 historical aerial photographs captured in 1967 and 1984 for generating DEMs and orthomosaics with Structure from Motion Multi View Stereo Photogrammetry along an elevation gradient from 977 to 4377 m above sea level (asl) at spatial resolutions of 0.84 m and 0.98 m for the years 1967 and 1984, respectively. Our datasets can be used by researchers and policymakers for (1) watershed management, as the area provides water for more than 30 million people; (2) landscape management; (3) detailed mapping and analysis of geological and archaeological features, as well as natural resources; (4) analyses of geomorphological processes; and (5) biodiversity research.

This study assessed the effects of monetary policy on output growth and inflation rate between 1986 and 2020 in Nigeria. The study employed theoretical perspective of Keynesian Reformulated Quantity Theory of Money. Time series data on Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Money Supply (M2) and Gross Fixed Capital Formation were obtained. The data were analysed using the Vector Error Correction Models. The study found that while monetary policy tools such as MPR and M2 have insignificant impact on inflation in the long run, their impacts were significant on real output growth. This suggests that inflationary pressure in Nigeria is not monetary driven in the long run. In terms of the short run, the study found that real output growth responds negatively to inflation rate, but positively to M2 and Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). Other findings from the study include (i) expansionary monetary policy characterised by lowering MPR and rising M2, fuels inflation in the short run, and this hurts real output growth, and (ii) MPR is driven by the lag values of real output growth, inflation rate, and money supply. For an effective monetary policy, the study suggests that efforts should be geared towards expanding financial inclusion and investment in Nigeria. The study also suggests the need for proper management of macroeconomic environment so as to stabilize inflation given that unstable macroeconomic environment also impacts negatively on real output growth.

A 30-year old male Business man presented at the accident and emergency unit of Abnira Medical Centre in Jos city on account of inability to pass urine for over fifteen hours. There was concomitant excruciating lower abdominal pain and swelling that is tender to touch. A positive history of generalized weakness, fatigue, nausea, heamaturia was given. However, no fever, vomiting, headache nor history of fainting attacks. On examination, he was afebrile, acyanosed with associated tachycardia (pulse rate 121bpm) and tachypnea (respiratory rate of 27c/min).He was oriented in place, person and time with no focal neurological deficit. There were no cardiac and other respiratory signs picked on examination. His abdomen was soft and non-tender, with normal bowel sounds. However, there was renal angle tenderness. Biochemical investigations done on presentation showed normal sodium, potassium, chlorite, and bicarbonate. He has some evidence of dehydration and pre-renal azotemia (increased creatinine, urea and uric acid).His liver function tests, lipase, thyroid function test, phosphate, magnesium and albumin-corrected calcium were all normal.

Metonymy is a linguistic phenomenon that is an essential part in all cultures. Therefore, the present study aims at discussing metonymy in general and analyzing the translation of Kināyah ᶜan ṣiƒah (metonymy of an attribute) in Khan’s translation (1997) of Ṣaḥiḥ Al-Bukhārῑ in particular, to examine the impact of translating metonymy on producing an effective and rhetorical language. Besides, it attempts to identify to what extent metonymy is rendered accurately and intelligibly into the target language, i.e. English. The data collected consists of 31 metonymic expressions in the Prophetic Hadiths. The selected metonymies are identified and analyzed in accordance with the translation at hand. Furthermore, the current study adopts Toury’s source-oriented translation (1995) in translating metonymy that prioritizes the taste of the original culture. Since the target readers are non-Arab Muslims, this implies that aim of translation is to observe the highly metonymic style of the Prophetic sayings in order not to sacrifice part of the metonymic meanings and to enrich the target language both linguistically and culturally; in turn, gain close access to the linguistic features and customs of the source language. The source-oriented approach is recommended here so as to maintain the cultural input of the source language, i.e. Arabic, in an attempt to circumvent the peculiarities of the source text. تعد الکناية ظاهرة لغوية أساسية في کل الثقافات، ولهذا تهدف هذه الدراسة إلي مناقشة الکناية بشکل عام وإلي تحليل وتقييم الکناية عن صفة في الأحاديث النبوية في کتاب صحيح البخارى وترجمتها عن خان (1997) بشکل خاص، في محاولة لتقييم الدور الذى تلعبه ترجمة الکناية في توصيل لغة بلاغية مؤثرة، بالإضافة إلي محاولة تحديد إلي أي مدي تم ترجمتها إلي اللغة المستهدفة- الإنجليزية- بشکل دقيق وفعال. کما أن مادة البحث تشمل 31 مثال للکناية عن صفة، ولقد تم في هذه الدراسة استخراج هذه الکنايات، وتحليلها، وتقييم الترجمة الخاص بها، وذلک في محاولة لبحث النهج المتبع في ترجمة هذه اللون البلاغي في الأحاديث النبوية. وکما تتبعت هذه الدراسة المنظور الموجه للغة المصدر (Source-Oriented Translation) لتوري (1995)، والتي من أولوياتها نقل ثقافة اللغة الأصلية في الترجمة. حيث أن القارئ المستهدف هو المسلم الغير ناطق بالعربية فکان هدف هذا البحث الحفاظ علي ثراء لغة الأحاديث الشريفة، وعدم التضحية بجزء من معانيها وتسعي أيضا إلي إثراء اللغة المستهدفة لغويا وثقافيا. ويعد المنظور الموجه للغة المستهدفة أکثر المناهج ملائمة لترجمة الحديث لأنها تنقل ثقافة النص الأصلى، اللغة العربية، محاولة نقل خصائص اللغة المصدر.

This study ascertained whether rice trade restriction policies embarked upon by Nigerian government between 2007 and 2019 as a way of boosting domestic rice production has any empirical justification. To achieve this objective, the study utilised time series data on domestic rice production (DP), border closure (BC), Rice import tariff (Tariff), Volume of rice imported (Imp) and Food price deflator for crop production sub-sector (Def). These data were analysed using descriptive and bivariate tools as well as the OLS regression models. The study found that trade restriction (proxied rice import tariff and border closure) alone was not effective in stimulating domestic rice production. A combination of other non-trade factors (e.g. measures to enhance local productive) also matter.

When it comes to the case of Kurdish universities regarding teaching styles and methodologies plenty of obstacles and barriers anyone can face not only due to the low level of the majority of the students; but also other factors like religion, interest, grading system, and most importantly low number of references on the subjects area can be the core cause of the issue. One of those points which drove the researcher to write on the common issue was due to the reason that the researcher could not find enough and adequate sources on the subject area; hence, the researcher tried to enrich the referencing system of Kurdish studies of English language in one hand and provide and broaden the horizon of other nationalities regarding Kurdish EFL learners of English and in English taught programs. As a matter of fact, through decades many scholars have been conducting studies on different teaching methodologies and they provided up to four different styles of language teaching. Apart from that, many other linguists enlightened their studies on Far East Asian countries or European. Even if some Middle Eastern studies were taken into consideration; but still, none can be found in the case of Kurdish university students. The current paper was conducted on English department of Charmo University with a total number of 34 participants from three different stages.

The impact of globalization on tertiary educational institutions (TEIs) in Ghana demands that they (TEIs) harness and leverage knowledge from the global knowledge basket to remain competitive. This paper examines the concept of knowledge management (KM) and how it is being managed in Ghana's TEIs for institutional advancement. The key challenges identified include the corporatisation of academic faculties, weak structures for KM, the intrusion of 'managerialism' as a style of leadership, absence of strong teamwork in knowledge creation and dissemination, and the erosion of the spirit of collegiality in academic staff relations. Suggestions made for the enhancement of knowledge management processes in TEIs include making adequate budgetary allocations for KM and integrating KM centres in established structures of TEIs. The paper concludes that knowledge is an indispensable asset for institutional advancement in higher education and therefore, TEIs should invest in the area to remain competitive globally. Keywords: Knowledge management; Intellectual capital; Managerialism; Institutional governance

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly contagious with various possible routes of transmission, resulting in high mortality globally. Controversy exists regarding the vertical transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 infection to fetuses of COVID-19-infected women. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of the vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19-infected mothers to their neonates.We prospectively collected demographical and clinical characteristics of 31 COVID-19 positive pregnant women and their neonates. All mothers and neonates were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection using the real-time polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal swabs and breast milk samples. Antenatal and placental abnormalities were ultrasonically and histopathologically examined. In cord blood samples, the immunoglobins (Ig) M and IgG were estimated qualitatively.The women's mean age and gestational age were 31 years and 38 weeks, respectively, with 58% undergoing an elective cesarean section. Gestational diabetes was reported in 29% of cases, 64.5% of women were medically free and only 16.12% were symptomatic. A normal antenatal ultrasound was observed in 77.42% of cases. Nine cord blood samples were positive for IgG. Villous infarction (24%), villous agglutination, and chorangiosis (51%), accelerated villous maturation (21%) and reduced and hypercoiling were reported for 6.97% of the umbilical cords. Three newborns had possible vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, of which, two were preterm and IUFD. The third neonate was born full-term, admitted to NICU and later discharged in good health.Our findings support the possibility of the direct vertical transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 infection to neonates from infected mothers. Further studies with a larger sample size are required to validate the current findings.

Because FPGAs outperform traditional processing cores like CPUs and GPUs in terms of performance per watt and flexibility, they are being used more and more in cloud and data center applications. There are growing worries about the security risks posed by multi-tenant sharing as the demand for hardware acceleration increases and gradually gives way to FPGA multi-tenancy in the cloud. The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of FPGA-accelerated applications may be compromised if space-shared FPGAs are made available to many cloud tenants. We propose a root of trust-based trusted execution mechanism called \textbf{TrustToken} to prevent harmful software-level attackers from getting unauthorized access and jeopardizing security. With safe key creation and truly random sources, \textbf{TrustToken} creates a security block that serves as the foundation of trust-based IP security. By offering crucial security characteristics, such as secure, isolated execution and trusted user interaction, \textbf{TrustToken} only permits trustworthy connection between the non-trusted third-party IP and the rest of the SoC environment. The suggested approach does this by connecting the third-party IP interface to the \textbf{TrustToken} Controller and running run-time checks on the correctness of the IP authorization(Token) signals. With an emphasis on software-based assaults targeting unauthorized access and information leakage, we offer a noble hardware/software architecture for trusted execution in FPGA-accelerated clouds and data centers.

Web phishing remains a serious cyber threat responsible for most data breaches. Machine Learning (ML)-based anti-phishing detectors are seen as an effective countermeasure, and are increasingly adopted by web-browsers and software products. However, with an average of 10K phishing links reported per hour to platforms such as PhishTank and VirusTotal (VT), the deficiencies of such ML-based solutions are laid bare. We first explore how phishing sites bypass ML-based detection with a deep dive into 13K phishing pages targeting major brands such as Facebook. Results show successful evasion is caused by: (1) use of benign services to obscure phishing URLs; (2) high similarity between the HTML structures of phishing and benign pages; (3) hiding the ultimate phishing content within Javascript and running such scripts only on the client; (4) looking beyond typical credentials and credit cards for new content such as IDs and documents; (5) hiding phishing content until after human interaction. We attribute the root cause to the dependency of ML-based models on the vertical feature space (webpage content). These solutions rely only on what phishers present within the page itself. Thus, we propose Anti-SubtlePhish, a more resilient model based on logistic regression. The key augmentation is the inclusion of a horizontal feature space, which examines correlation variables between the final render of suspicious pages against what trusted services have recorded (e.g., PageRank). To defeat (1) and (2), we correlate information between WHOIS, PageRank, and page analytics. To combat (3), (4) and (5), we correlate features after rendering the page. Experiments with 100K phishing/benign sites show promising accuracy (98.8%). We also obtained 100% accuracy against 0-day phishing pages that were manually crafted, comparing well to the 0% recorded by VT vendors over the first four days., Comment: 12 pages

Secure and trustworthy execution in heterogeneous SoCs is a major priority in the modern computing system. Security of SoCs mainly addresses two broad layers of trust issues: 1. Protection against hardware security threats(Side-channel, IP Privacy, Cloning, Fault Injection, and Denial of Service); and 2. Protection against malicious software attacks running on SoC processors. To resist malicious software-level attackers from gaining unauthorized access and compromising security, we propose a root of trust-based trusted execution mechanism \textbf{\textit{(named as \textbf{TrustToken}) }}. TrustToken builds a security block to provide a root of trust-based IP security: secure key generation and truly random source. \textbf{TrustToken} only allows trusted communication between the non-trusted third-party IP and the rest of the SoC world by providing essential security features, i.e., secure, isolated execution, and trusted user interaction. The proposed design achieves this by interconnecting the third-party IP interface to \textbf{TrustToken} Controller and checking IP authorization(Token) signals \texttt{`correctness'} at run-time. \textbf{TrustToken} architecture shows a very low overhead resource utilization LUT (618, 1.16 \%), FF (44, 0.04 \%), and BUFG (2 , 6.25\%) in implementation. The experiment results show that TrustToken can provide a secure, low-cost, and trusted solution for non-trusted SoC IPs.

The conventional synthesis of nanomaterials employing physical and chemical methods usually requires high cost and toxic chemicals. Thus, a facile, ecofriendly, cost-effective, novel, and sustainable route for the synthesis of a silver-loaded biochar nanocomposite (Ag@biochar) using

The art of Arabic calligraphy has accompanied the Arab Islamic civilization from its beginning until now, as it reflects both philosophical and civilizational dimensions, and its writings represent an important element in artistic contributions, as Islamic art is distinguished from other arts by using writings as a basic decorative element because of its plasticity, flexibility and diversity. The handicrafts that were inspired by Arabic calligraphy emerged from the strong desire of the Arab artist to adhere to originality and return to its roots, and Arabic calligraphy has been addressed in modern art in a new way that differs from what it was before as what was used in the past in terms of tools, materials, concepts and ideas can now be dealt with in a contemporary way that is compatible with the requirements of the modern era and takes into account the continuous development in the artistic movement, and contemporary artists are still searching for what’s new, so what was an intellectual and expressive heritage can now be studied with a new vision and concepts that fit the nature of the current era. The research aims to find new design formulas for metal jewellery, and to invest the plastic characteristics and capabilities of the Arabic Kufic calligraphy in enriching the aesthetics of metallic ornaments, and to combine the aesthetics of the Kufic calligraphy with the aesthetics of jewelry design, as well as opening new horizons for creativity and innovation in the field of jewelry design.

Metallic mirrors are now essential components of the (International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor) ITER plasma diagnostics system. The optical properties of the first mirror (FM) in the hostile ITER environment have adverse effects due to erosion and deposition owing to high energy charge exchange of neutral (CXN) particles, UV, X-ray, and gamma radiation. Molybdenum (Mo) and rhodium (Rh) are attractive metals for the FM(s) as they can withstand the harsh conditions of the plasma environment and have better reflectivity. However, the high cost of Rh limits its use as a single material in the FM; as a result, it is deposited as a thin film over a metallic substrate. Moreover, due to the different thermal expansion of the coated materials on FM leads to weak adhesion of the thin layers thereby reducing the life of the coated mirror; this eventually leads to the deterioration of the optical properties of the diagnostic mirror. Furthermore, this phenomenon is becoming a problem concerning the stainability and reflectivity of the diagnostic mirror. This study aims to show the performance of niobium (Nb) as an interlayer between Mo and an Rh thin films deposited via DC magnetron sputtering at the deposition power of 40 W. The Mo mirrors were exposed to the high temperature and were left to cool naturally to room temperature. Rougher surfaces, larger grain sizes, and excellent adhesion were observed. The overall reflectance of the mirrors exposed to high temperature was reduced by 10–15%.

Background: A cluster of many risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is used to describe the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Moreover, genetic differences associated with metabolic syndrome play a key role in its prevalence and side effects. This study aims to investigate the expression of DYRK1B and its association with metabolic syndrome in a small cohort of Egyptian. Materials and methods: A total of 100 adult Egyptians (50 with MetS and 50 healthy control subjects) were included to this study. Clinical, biochemical and anthropometric analysis were assessed. Relative gene expressions of DYRK1B were compared between two groups of subjects using real time PCR. Results: We observed marked overexpression in DYRK1B (p

Amyand’s hernia describes the presence of an appendix within the sac of an inguinal hernia. Both an inflamed and non-inflamed appendix within the hernia sac have been reported in the literature with various recommendations on approach to management. However, a tumour of the appendix is a rare finding in an Amyand’s hernia. We hereby report the unusual presentation of a fibroma of the appendix complicating the rare Amyand’s hernia in a young man with a scrotal mass.

The research point out on the most prominent issues that emerged in the Arab region following the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950's, which both Iraq led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and Egypt led by President Gamal Abdel Nasser had his own position. Furthermore, the issue of political differences between Egypt and the Western countries that led to the tripartite aggression against it in 1956 and the position of Iraq, as well as the position of Egypt from the revolution of July 14, 1958 in Iraq.

Ticks are important parasites from economic and public health points of view because of their ability to reduce farm animals' productivity and transmit zoonotic diseases. We conducted this cross-sectional study between January and March 2016 and between March and April 2017 to identify tick species in West Darfur, Al-Jazeera, and the River Nile states in the Sudan and to investigate whether these ticks carry Rickettsia spp. and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus. In total, 1593 ticks were collected from 207 animals and identified based on morphology or 16S rRNA gene and tested for Rickettsia spp. and CCHF virus either individually or as pools containing 2 to 10 pooled ticks using molecular methods. Overall, 14 tick species belonging to three genera, namely Amblyomma, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus, were identified. Hyalomma anatolicum and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi were the most frequent ticks. A total of 561 tests comprised of individual or pooled ticks were conducted and 13.7% (77/561) were positive for Rickettsia spp. which were mostly Rickettsia aeschlimannii and R. africae. The highest positivity was noticed among H. rufipes collected from cattle and camels in West Darfur. However, none of the screened Hyalomma ticks harbored CCHF viral RNA. These findings suggest that there might be a risk of zoonotic transmission of Rickettsia spp. by ticks but zoonotic transmission of CCHF virus is apparently doubtful. An in-depth and a country-wide epidemiological study is needed to better understand the dynamic of Rickettsia spp. and CCHF virus in the Sudan.

Numerous studies in the field of Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology have revealed that Quality of Work Life (QWL) is related to work related attitudes and behaviours. QWL advocates have argued that QWL have effects on job satisfaction, job involvement, job stress and organizational citizenship behaviours. However, most of these studies have only reported a direct link between QWL and these work related outcomes, and relatively few have looked at the role that other variables play in these relationships. This study examined the mediating effect of orgnisational commitment in the relationship between university staff perceived QWL and work performance. Questionnaires were distributed to fifty (50) randomly selected academic staff of the Kumasi Campus of the University of Education. Results from mediated regression analysis and Pearson r showed that organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between QWL and work performance. In addition QWL related positively with work performance. This study presents new information on quality of work life and work performance of university staff in a Ghanaian context.

The objective of this study is to assess the role of internal auditors in both private and public organizations found in limma zone purposively selected weredas. Both primary and secondary data have been used. Totally 128 self administered questionnaires were distributed to members of the audit committee or equivalent found in both the public and private enterprises in the study area. From this 100 (78 % response rate) questionnaires were completely filled and returned (77questionnaires from public organizations and 23 from the private companies). Collected data was edited, coded, and entered into the computer using SPSS 20 and was then scored. Data analyses are conducted through a descriptive statistics to provide details regarding the roles played by internal auditors. The major finding of the research shows that some of the private and public organization in the case study did not have an audit committee, audit charter and the members of the audit committee did not have a professional certificate in the field. On average, even though the chief audit executive and the internal auditors of both the private and public organization found in jimma zone selected weredas are playing different activities in the organizations, as compared to the standard, they are not playing their role as expected. Based on these findings the organizations are recommended to enhance the role of internal auditors through training of staff in accredited institutes at home and abroad, preparing a comprehensive charter that incorporate all the activities of internal auditing.

Purpose – In this study, it was aimed to investigate the antibacterial properties of natural pigments prepared from Thymus serpyllum. Design/methodology/approach – Al (III), Fe (II), Sn (II) and Cu (II) complexed natural pigments were obtained by using a precipitation method and the main constituents in the pigments were identified with HPLC-DAD. Also FTIR analysis was performed for further structural characterization. Moreover, the thermal stability and thermal degradation properties of the pigments were analyzed by thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The antimicrobial activity of the thyme plant-extracted pigments was evaluated by measuring the minimal inhibitory concentration. Findings – Apigenin and luteolin flavones were detected as the main components of the natural dyes. Thermal degradation behaviour of the pigments was determined by means of TGA. All pigments showed high char yields and it was attributed to the high complexation between the metal and the ligand species. The antimicrobial activity of the thyme plant-extracted pigments was measured and it was found that all pigments had high antimicrobial activity. Aluminum-thymus pigments showed the highest antimicrobial efficiency among other pigments used in this study. Originality/value – The obtained pigments have high antimicrobial activities, and therefore, they can be used for the production of antimicrobial textiles. Furthermore, Thymus-based natural pigments might have potential applications in coating, paint, plastic industries, etc.

The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting electronic supply chain management (e-SCM) adoption and diffusion by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and to propose an integrative framework for successful management of e-SCM by SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study we review existing literature and make some propositions for future empirical research. Building on existing framework this study integrates innovation diffusion theory, upper echelon theory, technology, organisation, environmental model and institutional theory and propose an integrated framework for e-SCM adoption and diffusion. The paper presents a contribution in the field of e-SCM, especially for SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This study designed to determine the surgical outcome of transcanalicular dacryocystorhinostomy for the treatment of blocked lacrimal pathway. This is a prospective study of 36 patients admitted in Basrah General Hospital from March 2008 to May 2010. The age of the patients was in range from 6 to 60yrs. Forty five (31.25%) were males and 99(68.75%) were females. All of these cases were unilateral. Thirty three (93.05%) of the total patients were operated general local anesthesia and the rest 3 (6.94%) were under local anesthesia. The overall success rate was 62.5% in non-intubated patients and 93.75% with intubation. It is concluded that Diode Laser Transcanalicular dacryocystorhinostomy is still a new surgical procedure for the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction and need further refinement of the surgical procedure and studies for evaluation of effectiveness and success.

The aim of this study is to find a new method of budgeting in one of the most important state facilities, namely, government universities, specifically the University of Garmian, by preparing the performance budget using the ABC method to achieve the efficiency and effectiveness of limited resources. The budget used in public universities is budget balancing. It is a traditional budget that focuses on the adoption of inputs without attention or focus on the objectives or the measurement of the outputs and the resulting effects, which weakens the accountability approach to efficiency and efficiency in implementation. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a thorough analysis and discussion of the scientific elements related to the fundamentals of the proposed budget was carried out. It was concluded that the performance budget through the use of the ABC system may lead to the effective completion of programs and activities at the University and other government universities. Extent of response to planned programs and objectives.

A new and systematic method to design digital controllers for uncertain chaotic systems with structured uncertainties is presented in this paper. Takagi–Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model is used to model the chaotic dynamic system, while the uncertainties are decomposed such that the uncertain chaotic system can be rewritten as a set of local linear models with an additional disturbed input. Conventional control techniques are utilized to develop the continuous-time controllers first. Then, the digital controllers are obtained as the digital redesign of the continuous-time controllers using the state-matching approach. The performance of the proposed controller design is illustrated through numerical examples.

Objective: The objective was to determine the short-term outcome of unaided and microsurgical varicocelectomy on semen parameters and conception after 6 months in patients with infertility and varicocele. Patients and Methods: This was a randomized, prospective, interventional study that was conducted on men with infertility and varicocele. Patients were randomized into two groups. Patients in Group A underwent open inguinal varicocelectomy, whereas patients in Group B had the same surgery with microsurgical technique using ×3.5 magnification loupes. All the patients had preoperative seminal fluid analysis (SFA) performed on two occasions, a scrotal Doppler ultrasound and a postoperative SFA at 3 months and 6 months posttreatment. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software package version 23.0, and the level of significance was taken as 0.05. Results: Thirty patients participated in the study, 14 in Group A and 16 in Group B. The mean age in Groups A and B was 40.07 ± 7.7 and 39.44 ± 7.3 years, respectively. About 85.7% of patients in Group A had bilateral varicocele, whereas 14.3% had left-sided varicocele. In Group B, 75% had bilateral, whereas 25% were on the left side. There was a statistically significant improvement in sperm count, motility, and morphology in both the unaided and the microsurgical groups; however, there was no significant difference in the improvement of seminal parameters between the two groups except the morphology. The pregnancy rate was 14.3% in Group A and 25% in Group B. Overall pregnancy rate in this study is 20% after 6 months. Conclusion: Varicocelectomy leads to significant improvement in sperm parameters; however, there is no significant difference in outcome between unaided and microsurgical varicocelectomy.

The recent study was carried out on medicinal plants of Chellah District Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir to find out life form and leaf size spectra and also to explorer folk uses of plants of that area. The 30 plants species were collected of medicinal values which were belonging to 16 families. The folk uses of plants were recorded from local inhabitant through questionnaire. The plants species were used for treating various ailments such as malaria, diarrhea, dysentery etc by the local inhabitants. Biological spectrum explored that higher number of Therophytes and low number of trees indicated that vegetation that plants communities were under high biotic pressure due to anthropogenic activities.

The fruit and decoction of Lycium shawii Roem and Schult (Solonaceae) aerial parts are used to prevent from liver damage in folk medicine. In the present study biological activities and phytochemical study of aerial parts of Lycium shawii R. Family Solanaceae were evaluated. Methylene chloride fraction exhibits potent inhibition of cell growth against MCF7 cancer cell. Ethyl acetate fraction has the highest radical scavenging activity as determined by DPPH assay. Ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest hepatoprotective activity against CCL4- induced hepatotoxicity compared to standard silymarin. Phytochemical study of bio-active fractions (Methylene chloride and Ethyl acetate) of L. Shawii R. resulted in isolation and structural determination of 5 compounds; 5,9-Heneicosadienoic acid methyl ester, β-Sitosterol, Atropine, Trans-Ferulic acid and 5- Hydroxy Ferulic acid.

Learning another language, apart from your mother tongue, becomes an influential part of life; however, it will be affected by many non-linguistic factors. Moreover, there is no doubt that language acquisition is a complex process which involves several factors, and that this process is highly influenced due to the plasticity of the brain. Furthermore, the types of memory systems involved in females and males also have a pivotal role that makes the genders distinct. Additionally, age and gender are among the factors that run in parallel with other factors and deeply influence language acquisition process. The study aims to investigate the role of age and gender problems and their influences, as it tries to differentiate between all ages and genders, in learning English as a foreign language. The participants in this research are students at different basic and secondary schools, and English department students at the University of Sulaimani; besides, several teachers were asked too. Mixed methods of data collection were used in this study (questionnaire and interview). The questionnaire section consists of ten questions and five for background information, which all were about age and gender. Moreover, twenty-eight students participated in the questionnaire section; and two teachers and one student participated in the interview section, which was consisted of five questions. The results of this research show the problems according to different ages and genders, and difficulties that faced Kurdish students through learning English; in which, it helps instructors to select their instructional strategies more effectively related to gender and age of students.

The purpose of this research is to identify the effect of these variables; liquidity, profitability, growth rate, size, risk level and assets tangibility on financial structure of life insurance and general insurance firms listed in KSE, which numbered 34 from general insurance and 4 from life insurance firms. These firms are listed and continuously operate during the period from 2001 to 2010.

To describe the clinical manifestations laboratory findings and frequency of complications in adult chickenpox patients admitted in the hospital.This was a hospital based descriptive study, conducted at the Infectious Diseases Unit, Rashid Hospital Dubai, UAE, from March 2005 to February 2008. The study was designed to include demographics (age, sex, nationality); clinical information, radiological and biochemical changes observed in each patient and data was entered into the proforma separately. Full blood count, urea, electrolytes and blood sugar were done for all the patients, whereas, other tests were carried out when and where it was indicated. Patients were treated according to the standard protocol for the management of Chickenpox and its complications.A total of 102 adult patients were entered into the study. The main presenting symptoms were itchy skin rash, fever, cough, sputum, breathlessness, throat pain, vomiting, abdominal pain, confusion and headache. Whereas, the most common complications observed were raised Alanine aminotransferases (ALT) levels (51.9%) and the levels were greater than 10-folds of normal value in 4.9%, thrombocytopenia (42.1%), varicella pneumonia (28.4%), skin infection (25.4%), septicaemia (10.7%), Encephalitis/Meningitis (8.8%), Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) (6.8%), acute renal failure (2.9%) and acute hepatic failure (1.9%). The frequency of varicella pneumonia was noted to be higher in males, older age group (p.005), smokers (p.002) and patients with respiratory symptoms (p.0001). Total five (4.9%) patients expired, whereas, mortality rate was 17.2% in varicella pneumonia patients and 45.5% in mechanically ventilated patients.Chickenpox in adults causes severe systemic manifestations leading to high frequency of complications with increased mortality rate, particularly in the older age group and in smokers who develops varicella pneumonia and require mechanical ventilation.

The paper investigates how personal characteristics antecedents and organisational antecedents integrate to determine employee commitment (EC) in the Electricity Company of Ghana. By so doing, we depart from the predominant approaches to the study of EC which focus on a single set of antecedents, and to establish the need for combining the two. A survey study, we used questionnaire to collect primary data from 120 directors, managers and employees of the company. Data were presented in tabular format using frequencies and percentages, and cross-analysed the two sets of antecedents to ascertain their extent of integration in driving EC. We found that integrating both sets of antecedents reveals the critical role of employees' personal characteristics in influencing the organisational antecedents to cause commitment, and a table is constructed to demonstrate this. We recommend application of both sets of antecedents, simultaneously, to better explain how and why employees are committed to organisations.

Introduction: Hypospadias and its surgical correction is a challenging urologic discipline. Various surgical procedures for correction of this anomaly have evolved, in order to reduce complication rate and improve cosmetic outcome. The aim of this study is to review the complication rate and cosmetic outcome in patients who had hypospadias surgery at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. Patients and Methods: The case records and clinical appearance of 54 patients with hypospadias who had surgery between June1998 and June 2008 were reviewed. The effect of different variables on the overall complication rates were evaluated, including: the degree of chordee; the urethral meatal site after correction of any penile curvature; the age of the patient at surgery; the source of the neourethra; and tubularization of the flap. Result: The mean age of the patients was 1.97 (0.5-12) years. Most patients had their repair at 2 years of age. Twenty-six had distal hypospadias while twenty-eight were mid penile or proximal hypospadias. Distal hypospadias have a better outcome than proximal hypospadias. Onlay flaps have lower stricture and fistula compared with tubularized flaps. Repairs are done recently at earlier age with equal or better outcome. Conclusion: Skin flap procedures have had sufficiently extensive use to support the feasibility of a one-stage repair of different types of hypospadias. Snodgrass is gaining popularity in recent times, and more procedures are likely to evolve in order to improve cosmetic outcome.

Background: The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been on the increase. Small (early stage) RCC is potentially curable by surgery; however, advanced RCC has a very poor prognosis. Recent advances in the treatment of advanced/metastatic RCC have improved the hitherto gloomy outcome. Objectives: To determine the clinical presentation, pathologic characteristics and survival outcome of patients managed for RCC in our center. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data retrieved from case notes, operation registers and histopathology records of all the patients that underwent nephrectomy for RCC over a 10-year period (2004-2013). Details of the clinical presentation, evaluation, histopathologic characteristics, treatment and outcome were recorded. Data were displayed in charts and tables and survival analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Results: A total of 51 patients had nephrectomy for RCC during the period of study. The mean age was 43.1 years standard deviation 15.3 with a male-to-female ratio of 2:3. An unexpected finding was the relatively high incidence of right-sided tumors 35 (68.6%) compared to left side 14 (27.5%). Over 90% of the patients had advanced disease (T3 or greater). It was also observed that most of the young patients were females and had predominantly right-sided tumors. Clear cell RCC accounted for the most common histologic type 38 (74.5%). Only 6 patients had incidental (early) disease, and they had the best outcome. Overall survival was poor but patients who had adjuvant treatment fared relatively better. Conclusion: RCC remains a highly lethal urologic malignancy. Recent advances in targeted molecular therapies have improved the outcome of the advanced disease. In our environment, the outcome has remained dismal due to multiple factors, including late detection, cost and relative scarcity of the new treatment modalities.

Background: Objectives: To determine the clinical characteristics of the obstetric patients that were complicated with eclampsia and compare it to all uncomplicated obstetrics patients (non-eclampsia) that had caesarean sections, determine the technique of anaesthesia and the anaesthetic management of the eclamptic patients in our centres. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective case-control multi-centered study of eclamptic patients that had caesarean sections under anaesthesia in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State and Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Gombe State North-eastern Nigeria over four year period from January, 2011 to December, 2014. Results: A total of two hundred and seventy three (273) eclamptic patients made up 158(57.88%) and 115(42.12%) from University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri and Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe respectively that had caesarean sections under various types of anaesthesia during the study period, which represents 17.42% of total caesarean sections (1,567 patients) and 1.87% of all deliveries (14,611 patients) during the 4-year period. Most of the eclamptic patients had GA (87.18%). The case fatality rate for eclampsia managed in ICU was 14.65%.However; the overall case fatality for eclampsia was 18.31%. Conclusion: The commonest anaesthesia employed for eclamptics was general anaesthesia, this was because most of the patients that presented to our centres were either unconscious or had late presentation. We therefore, recommend regular public enlightenment on eclampsia in our environment and also to encourage a team work among the team members.

Recently, the result of previous studies on the issue of acquiring target language, using different strategies, based on the different individuals inspired many scholars and linguists; and has mushroomed over the last decade since some very valuable studies have been conducted. Additionally, achieving foreign or second language, unlike mother tongue, is very difficult and needs different techniques to be taken in to consideration for a better result. In this regard, the present article aspires at accenting the importance of language learning strategies and highlights the consequence of different learners in achieving target language. It summarizes the concept by giving a brief definition from different point of views; in which first it was believed that it belonged to behaviourist theories, but later it was combined to psychology of different individuals. Later, in another section, various types of strategies were outlined that was proposed by several researchers. Moreover, whether to teach less successful learners successful LLS or teach various types of strategies to every kind of learners were also discussed by different writers` point of views on choosing an appropriate strategy for a particular student. Finally, each of motivation, self-efficiency, proficiency level, meta-cognitive awareness, gender differences, learning style, types of strategy training and anxiety have been discussed on teaching LLS. Furthermore, some types of activities were given to make easier for individuals to practice their target/second language and acquire the assigned language easily.

Background: In medieval times, physicians concealed information about patient's health from them with the hope of giving them better care, the rationale being that the doctor knows better than the patient and should therefore direct the patient's care. This is obviously no longer acceptable in modern day practice. Objective: Increasing rate of litigations and the desire to provide patient with more participation in their own treatment, attain higher ethical standards and greater patient's safety have heightened the need for the surgeon to be conversant with what comprises and how to obtain informed consent. Materials and Methods: We reviewed current literature, including, original and review articles obtained through a search of PubMed database, Medline and Google scholar using the keywords: Counseling, informed, consent, surgical, practice. Results: The concept of consent is continuously evolving, whereas litigations can sanitize medical practice it must not be the driving tool, rather, practices should be evidence based. It is therefore necessary for the surgeon to be conversant with the relevance, modes, elements and application of a valid informed consent as well as methods of improving the process of obtaining informed consent. Patients should be fully involved in the management of their surgical conditions. Conclusion: A big gap exists between the theoretical/legal best practice and the daily practice of informed consent. An optimally informed patient will have more realistic expectations regarding a surgical procedure and its associated risk.

Background: Ureterocele is a cystic dilatation of the distal ureter. It remains a rare urologic condition in non-Caucasians and is even less common in adults. Single-system ureteroceles are usually found in adults, and thus the name adult ureterocele. Though uncommon, urologists practicing in this region should be acquainted with the management. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of folders of 10 adult patients who were admitted for surgical treatment of ureterocele in our center between 2000 and 2009 was done. The information obtained included: age, sex, type and number of ureterocele, associated disease, type of surgical intervention, complications, and follow-up. Results: The age range was 20-49 years, with a mean age of 31 years. Of these patients, seven were females and three were males. Six patients had unilateral ureterocele while four had bilateral disease, making a total of 14 ureteroceles. The presenting symptoms were flank pain and painful micturition, each occurring in 60% of the patients. Genitourinary tuberculosis was diagnosed in 4 (40%) patients. Other associated pathologies were impacted stone in the ureterocele and vesical schistosomiasis. The treatment was mainly by open method (70%), while the rest had endoscopic treatment. All the patients did well and there were no significant perioperative complications. Conclusion: The finding of associated pathology in our patients supports the theory of an acquired origin. Urologists practicing in this region need to have a high index of suspicion and be acquainted with the variable clinical presentations, radiographic features, and treatment options in order to be able to effectively manage these occasional cases.

Background: Gossypiboma is retained cotton gauze in a patient after a surgical procedure. It is generally rare with incidence ranging between 1 per 1000 and 1500. Retained gauze in the scrotum is even rarer. Gossypiboma has occurred in virtually every surgical procedure despite taking adequate precautions and performing routine gauze count. The use of radio-opaque markers and radiofrequency tags on gauze is hoped to prevent the occurrence and aid in its detection. Case Report: A 65-year-old man presented with scrotal swelling, scrotal and groin skin nodular lesions 9 months after bilateral hydrocelectomy for vaginal hydrocele. Clinical evaluation revealed bilateral hemiscrotal swellings with a thickened hyperkeratotic skin, and multiple, firm, non-tender, nodular growths on the scrotum, groin, and mons-pubis. The enlarged scrotum contained a firm non-tender mass. The phallus was edematous and tortuous. He was also found to have metastatic carcinoma of the prostate. Scrotal ultrasound scan showed bilaterally enlarged testes with distorted echo pattern and a few abscess cavities. Multiple biopsies of the groin and scrotal nodular lesions showed non-specific chronic inflammation with no evidence of malignancy. The cause of the scrotal and groin lesions could not be determined before surgery. He had orchidectomy and scrotoplasty during which gauze was found in the scrotum. Conclusion: Retained gauze in the scrotum is uncommon. Our patient presented with unusual cutaneous lesions, making the diagnosis very difficult. Foreign body reaction should be considered as a possible cause of unusual skin lesions when seen around a site of previous surgery.