Bidirectional HMM-based Arabic POS tagging

In this work, we will present a new concept of POS tagging that will be implemented for the Arabic language. Indeed, we will see that in Arabic there are a numerous cases where the determination of the morpho-syntactic state of a word depends on the states of the subsequent words, which represents the theoretical foundation of the approach: how to consider, in addition of the past elements, the future ones. We will then demonstrate how the POS tagging in its statistical application: the HMM, is based mainly on the past elements, and how to combine both direct and reverse taggers to tag the same sequence of words in both senses. Thus, we will propose a hypothesis for the result selecting. In the practical part, we will present, in general, the used resource and the changes made on it. Then we will explain the experiment steps and the parameters collected and presented on graphics, that we will discuss later to lead to the final conclusion.     

Patient safety in outpatient surgery: the viewpoint of the healthcare providers

The objective of this study is to understand the viewpoint of healthcare providers with regard to patient safety in outpatient surgery settings. Two methods were used to gather data from the healthcare providers: (1) questionnaire with open-ended questions about six predefined stages of the patient care process; (2) survey with closed questions. With the first method, the main quality and safety of care issues concerned communication to patients, coordination of reports and forms, patient and staff time pressures and standards of care. The first two stages of the outpatient surgery process, i.e. patient work-up prior to day of surgery and patient admission and preparation on the day of surgery, yielded many more comments than the other four stages. The results of the structured questionnaire show that, overall, the healthcare providers report high quality of care provided by themselves (98%) and their surgery centre (96%). With regard to patient safety (i.e. cancellations of surgeries, patient safety problems and serious mistakes), there was a clear difference in perceptions reported by the physicians vs. the nurses and other staff. Nurses and other staff were more likely to report patient safety problems than physicians. The combination of qualitative data from the initial questionnaire and the quantitative data from the structured questionnaire provides a rather complete view of the outpatient surgery staff perceptions of quality and safety of care. This research highlights the importance of getting input from the healthcare providers regarding the quality and safety of care rather than relying only on traditional measures about patient outcomes.     

Green Nanoarchitectonics of Cu/Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Using Helleborus niger Extract Towards an Efficient Nanocatalyst,Antioxidant and Anti-lung Cancer Agent

Biogenic nanoarchitectured magnetic materials have drawn serious attention throughout the last decade. We have attempted the Helleborus niger flower extract functionalized and templated biogenic synthesis of Cu nanoparticles supported Fe₃O₄ as a likewise novel material. The plant phytomolecules were deployed as a non-toxic sustainable reductant and an outstanding capping agent to stabilize the synthesized NPs. The synthesized Cu/H.niger@Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite was undergone comprehensive characterizations through Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques. The material was catalytically explored in the synthesis of diverse pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives by coupling 4-hydroxycoumarin, malononitrile and a range of aldehydes in hot water when it afforded excellent yields. Based on its core magnetism, the catalyst was easily recovered using a magnet and reused for 8 successive times without considerable loss in catalytic activity. After the chemical application, the synthesized Cu/H.niger@Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite was engaged in biological assays like study of anti-oxidant properties by DPPH mediated free radical scavenging test using BHT as a reference molecule. Thereafter, on having a significant IC₅₀ value in radical scavenging assay, we extended the bio-application of the desired nanocomposite in anticancer study of A549 and H358 human lung cell lines in-vitro through MTT assay. The cell viability of malignant lung cell line reduced dose-dependently in the presence of desired nanocomposite. So, these results suggest that synthesized Cu/H.niger@Fe₃O₄ as a chemotherapeutic nanomaterial have a suitable anticancer activity against lung cell lines.

     

Application of a biopolymer chitosan-poly(propylene)imine dendrimer hybrid as an antimicrobial agent on the wool fabrics

In this research, chitosan-poly(propylene)imine dendrimer hybrid (CS-PPI) was applied to wool fabrics; and weight gain and antibacterial properties of the grafted wool fabric by CS-PPI were investigated. A response surface methodology employed for optimization of the important factors such as pH, processing time, and CS-PPI and cross-linking agent (CA) concentrations. The physical properties showed sensible changes regardless of weight gain. The maximum weight gain was obtained when the wool fabrics were treated with pH 5, processing time 24 h, CS-PPI 20 %(owf) and CA 5 % over weight of fiber (owf). Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed the presence of foreign particles determinedly fixed to the surface of the wool fabric. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning colorimetry revealed the grafting of CS-PPI onto wool fabric by forming novel chemical bonds between the wool and CS-PPI molecules. The treated wool fabrics showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial activities of the treated wool by CS-PPI at a concentration of 20 % over weight of fiber (owf) demonstrated 100 % bacterial growth inhibition, which was preserved more than 84 % even after being washed in 12 various conditions repeatedly. The grafted wool fabrics have antibacterial potential due to the antibacterial property of CS-PPI molecules. The mechanism of CS-PPI grafting onto wool fabric using CA was proposed. The findings of this study support the potential production of the new environmentally friendly textile fibers.