The main aim of this research is to introduce financing cost optimization and different financing alternatives. There are many studies about financing cost optimization. All previous studies considering the cost of financing have many shortcomings, some considered only one source of financing as a credit line without taking into account different financing alternatives. Having only one funding alternative powers, restricts contractors and leads to a very specific financing model. Although it is beneficial for the contractor to use a long-term loan to minimize interest charges and prevent a substantial withdrawal from his credit line, none of the existing financial-based planning models have considered long-term loans in their models or included a schedule of borrowed money and a repayment schedule with interest rates. The aim of this study is not only to eliminate the shortcomings of previous studies but also to incorporate a financing optimization model for various funding alternatives available to contractors in terms of funding sources and forms, cash provision times, interest rates and repayment options. This work proposes a financing optimization model, not only to remove the limitations but also to find optimal financing costs while offering the financing schedule without increasing the project duration and adjusting the starting times of the activities.
Polymeric hollow fiber membrane is produced by a physical process called wet or dry/wet phase inversion; a technique includes many steps and depends on different factors (starting from selecting materials, end with post-treatment of hollow fiber membrane locally manufactured). This review highlights the most significant factors that affect and control the characterization and structure of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes used in different applications.
Three different types of polymers (polysulfone PSF, polyethersulfone PES or polyvinyl chloride PVC) were considered to study morphology change and structure of hollow fiber membranes in this review. These hollow fiber membranes were manufactured with different pro
... Show MorePrimary hypogonadism combined with Müllerian hypoplasia and partial alopecia are common features of this syndrome, which was reported only in four earlier families from areas where consanguineous marriage is prevalent. An autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance was suggested earlier and is supported by this report.
Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus (FEP) is a slowly growing, low-grade malignant tumor with very low metastatic potential that is considered a distinct variant of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). It usually manifests as sessile or polypoidal lesions on the trunk of middle-aged patients. However, it may present in younger age groups, even in children. In this case, we present a rare case of FEP atypically presenting as a scaly plaque on the lower back for several years in an elderly female who was eventually diagnosed by excisional biopsy and histopathology.
We present a case of congenital of flexor pollicis longus agenesis without thenar hypoplasia in a 12-year-old girl with no history of trauma. Two-staged corrective surgery was planned. In the first stage, the flexor pulley was reconstructed using silicone followed by the second stage 3 months later when flexor pollicis longus reconstruction was performed using tendon transfer of the flexor digitorum superficialis. The patient completed post-operative physiotherapy and the result of the surgical treatment in both functional and cosmetic aspects was, in the authors’ opinion, excellent.
Enhancing fatigue resistance in asphalt binders and mixtures is crucial for prolonging pavement lifespan and improving road performance. Recent advancements in nanotechnology have introduced various nanomaterials such as alumina (NA), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and silica (NS) as potential asphalt modifiers. These materials possess unique properties that address challenges related to asphalt fatigue. However, their effectiveness depends on proper dispersion and mixing techniques. This review examines the mixing methods used for each nanomaterial to ensure uniform distribution within the asphalt matrix and maximize performance benefits. Recent research findings are synthesized to elucidate how these nanomaterials and their mixing proce
... Show MoreFace recognition and identity verification are now critical components of current security and verification technology. The main objective of this review is to identify the most important deep learning techniques that have contributed to the improvement in the accuracy and reliability of facial recognition systems, as well as highlighting existing problems and potential future research areas. An extensive literature review was conducted with the assistance of leading scientific databases such as IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink and covered studies from the period 2015 to 2024. The studies of interest were related to the application of deep neural networks, i.e., CNN, Siamese, and Transformer-based models, in face recogni
... Show MoreThe rapid development of telemedicine services and the requirements for exchanging medical information between physicians, consultants, and health institutions have made the protection of patients’ information an important priority for any future e-health system. The protection of medical information, including the cover (i.e. medical image), has a specificity that slightly differs from the requirements for protecting other information. It is necessary to preserve the cover greatly due to its importance on the reception side as medical staff use this information to provide a diagnosis to save a patient's life. If the cover is tampered with, this leads to failure in achieving the goal of telemedicine. Therefore, this work provides an in
... Show MoreRecent growth in transport and wireless communication technologies has aided the evolution of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The ITS is based on different types of transportation modes like road, rail, ocean and aviation. Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is a technology that considers moving vehicles as nodes in a network to create a wireless communication network. VANET has emerged as a resourceful approach to enhance the road safety. Road safety has become a critical issue in recent years. Emergency incidents such as accidents, heavy traffic and road damages are the main causes of the inefficiency of the traffic flow. These occurrences do not only create the congestion on the road but also increase the fuel consumption and p
... Show MoreStealth marketing is considered as one of the contemporary issues that researchers have begun to explore as a current understanding. It is the marketing approach used by organizations to promote their products and services to the public in implicit and indirect manner. In this article, the concept of stealth marketing will be discussed throw its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the different techniques of stealth marketing have been discussed including: viral marketing, celebrity marketing, brand pushers, bait-and-tease marketing, video games marketing, and marketing in music. Furthermore, a new technique of marketing entitled “Marketing through social responsibility” has been added and discussed according to the themes in the
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