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Background: Easy-to-use trauma scoring systems can be used for making good clinical decision before the patient reaches the hospital and at emergency department. These scoring systems can also be used for timely delivering medical support and preparing the patient for surgery in early stage. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of trauma scoring systems such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) to predict outcomes in young children with traumatic injuries. Methods: This was a potential cross-sectional study that was conducted in the emergency department of Suez Canal University Hospitals. We included 86 children patients younger than 6 years of age who were presented to hospital via the emergency department with any traumatic injury and compared the trauma outcomes for GCS, ISS, and RTS on patient outcomes. Results: The main type of accident encountered in our study was fall from height (33.7%) followed by road traffic accidents (29.1%). Mortality rate in our study was 4.7%. The mean trauma scores of ISS, GCS, and RTS in our studied population were 11.47, 14.21, and 7.79, respectively. All trauma scores differed with statistical significance (p17, ≤7, and ≤5, respectively.

Background: The Recognition of Stroke in The Emergency Room (ROSIER( scale has been designed to provide physicians in the emergency department with a framework which can be used to assess patients with suspected stroke and to facilitate early identification of acute stroke & appropriate referral. Aims: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of the ROSIER score in order to improve outcome of stoke patients. Methodology: The current study was designed as a prospective cross sectional study that included Patients over 18 years of age with suspected stroke presenting at emergency department in Suez Canal university hospital. Results: Patients with stroke formed about 65.2% of the patients with suspected stroke in the ER. Patients with stroke/ TIA were found to have significantly higher age compared to other patients (63.58 ±12.55 vs 39.18±11.12) (p

Background: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is defined as cessation of cardiac activity, confirmed by the absence of signs of circulation, in a hospitalized patient who had a pulse at the time of admission. The purpose of the present study was to record the definitive predictors of IHCA, focusing on the relation between cause and outcome as well as the influence of location on survival. Subjects and Methods: This prospective observational study (cross sectional) was carried out in Emergency Department at Suez Canal University Hospital and included 223 patients experiencing IHCA at the Emergency Department (ED). Results: Our study showed return of spontanous circulation (ROSC) rate of 27.4%, which is lower than those reported in other studies from the region. In our study, we found that the overall mean duration for comprehensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was 21 min (SD ± 10).We found that Pulse, RR, BP, Witnessed and advanced life support (ALS) interventions at time of event were significant positive predictors to ROSC with patients while age, modified early warning score (MEWS), Interval between collapse to start CPR and CPR duration were negative predictors to cognitive impairment with diabetic patients. Conclusions: IHCA can be predicted using different variable related to patients vital data, laboratories, radiological investigations and patient demographic data which helps in predicting and modifying the outcome in limited situations.

Background: Septic acute kidney injury is a syndrome of acute impairment of function and organ damage linked with long-term adverse outcomes depending on the extent of acute injury superimposed on underlying organ reserve. Sepsis is the most important cause of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine expressed in the renal cortex, peritubular capillaries, and interstitium. Aim: To assess the role of IL-18 in comparison to serum creatinine in the early detection of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury in the Emergency Department (ED) at Suez Canal University Hospital. Subjects and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study that included two groups of participants. Study group: patient diagnosed with sepsis-induced acute kidney injury attending to the ED at Suez Canal University Hospital. Control group: healthy individuals of the same age group. Patients were clinically assessed and managed by the ABCDE protocol. All patients were subjected to Initial assessment including History, clinical examination, and laboratory investigation, including urinary IL-8. Results: Cases had statistically significant higher urinary IL-18 compared to controls (121.97 ± 75.84 vs 69.07 ± 35.59) (p

A 60 days feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) or copper sulfate (CuSO 4 ) on growth performance, blood biochemical profiles, antioxidant status and immune response of red sea bream ( Pagrus major ) (initial body weight: 3.30 ± 0.02 g). Six diets were formulated containing CuSO 4 or 2, 4, 6 or 8 mg supplemental Cu as NPs were supplied to the basal diet (control). The obtained results showed that, fish fed diets supplemented with Cu-NPs at levels of 2 and 4 mg kg − 1 had the highest values of final body weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake, protein gain and tolerance against low-salinity stress. Significantly higher feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio, protein retention, whole body Cu content, protease activity, lysozyme activity and total serum protein were found at levels of 2 mg Cu-NPs kg − 1 diet when compared with the control group. Whole body protein of fish fed diet Cu-free diet was significantly lower than those of fish fed other diets. Fish fed diets supplemented with Cu-NPs at different levels gave the lowest values of plasma glucose. Furthermore, fish fed diets supplemented with Cu-NPs at 2 and 4 mg kg − 1 diet were in better conditions whereas, fish fed control diet implied comparatively higher oxidative conditions. Therefore, the data of the present study recommend adding 2 mg Cu-NPs per kg diet to improve fish growth, immune response and antioxidant defense system. Statement of relevance Efficiency of copper for red sea bream.

In order to study the impact of culture on the inter-organizational knowledge transfer, the transfer is conceptualized as an unfolding process consisting of stages through which the involved parties proceed. Such conceptualization allows a closer examination of how the cultural traits of source and recipient firms at different levels affect each stage of the transfer process. The cultural impacts are categorized into two main categories, monadic and dyadic. The theoretical and practical implications of the proposed model are discussed.

With the emergence of knowledge management (KM) as a new discipline for studying what needs to be done in order to get the most out of organizational knowledge resources, linking knowledge management and innovation becomes a necessity. Nevertheless, there are few studies that address the relationship between KM and innovation. While the thing- and process-oriented approaches adopted in these studies are helpful in understanding the relationship between knowledge management concepts and innovation concepts, they have failed to account for the impact of this relationship on the effectiveness of the innovation process. In order to study this impact, cognitive fit theory is used to develop a model that describes how the compatibility between knowledge manipulating activities and the type of knowledge associated with innovation will affect the success of the innovation process.

A three‐layer, cognitive domains, functional and resources, reference model for knowledge management systems is developed. This model aims at providing the basis for identifying the processes to be supported by any knowledge management support system (KMSS), for modeling the dynamics of these processes, for developing a framework of a business‐aware approach to KMSS development methodology, and for developing blueprints for information/communication technology (ICT)‐based KMSS. The first layer deals with the organizational knowledge and its characterization in terms of knowledge things. The concept of “K‐manipulating situation” is introduced and used as a conceptual construct for structuring the functional aspects of KMSS. While this construct combines knowledge and its manipulating processes, it also captures the social aspects of them by including the involved actors and their roles. Examples from Matsushita’s “Home Bakery” case study are used to illustrate the application of the reference model.

The explication of value systems of the subsidiaries involved in the knowledge transfer process is the necessary condition for its success. The term cultural ontology is introduced to refer to such explication. Using a framework that is based on a modified version of Gupta and Govindarjan's model of the knowledge transfer between subsidiaries in Multi-National Corporation, and De Long and Fahey's framework for studying the cultural influences on knowledge transfer process, the elements of cultural ontology are specified. The cultural ontology specification document includes its domain, purpose, level of formality, scope, possible sources of knowledge, competency questions and the possible reusable ontologies.

In the last decade a new generation of information systems (ISs), such as Web-based information systems and knowledge management support systems, have emerged in response to ever-changing organizational needs. Therefore, the need for new “Information System Design Theories” for the emerging ISs is recognized. According to Walls, Widmeyer, and El-Sawy (1992), an “IS design theory” must have two aspects?one dealing with the description of the system and one dealing with the prescription, that is, the process of developing of the system. The prescription aspect includes a description of procedures and guidelines for system development. In addition, these two aspects must be grounded on theories from natural or social sciences (i.e., kernel theories). As information systems are socio-technical phenomena in which social and technical factors interweave the ways in which people work, the issue of “how to integrate the work activity and social context of users into the IS which is being designed” becomes one of the principal problems of IS development (Bai & Lindberg, 1999). Therefore, the development of new IS design theories requires a closer look at the system theories that go beyond the traditional system theory that is based, among other things, on Cartesian dualism (i.e., mind/body or cognition/action) and on a model of cognition as the processing of representational information (Mingers, 2001). One of the candidate theories is the theory of autopoiesis, which can be best viewed as a system-grounded way of thinking with biological foundations, together with its extension into social domain.

In the last decade a new generation of information systems (IS), such as enterprise resource planning, Web-based information systems and knowledge management support systems, have emerged in response to ever-changing organizational needs. As these systems are socio-technical phenomena in which social and technical factors interweave the ways in which people work, the issue of “how to integrate the work activity and social context of users into the IS which is being designed” becomes one of the principal problems of IS development (Bai et al., 1999). Therefore, the need for new information system design theories is recognized. According to Walls et al. (1992), an “IS design theory” must have two aspects—one dealing with the description of the system and one dealing with the prescription, that is, the process of developing of the system. The prescription aspect includes a description of procedures and guidelines for system development. In addition, these two aspects have to be grounded on theories from natural or social sciences, that is, kernel theories. Therefore, the development of new IS design theories requires a closer look at the system theories that go beyond the traditional system theory that is based, among other things, on Cartesian dualism, that is, mind/body or cognition/action, and on a model of cognition as the processing of representational information (Mingers, 2001). One of the candidate theories is the theory of autopoiesis, which can be best viewed as a system-grounded way of thinking with biological foundations, together with its extension into social domain.

The role of knowledge as a crucial asset for an enterprise’s survival and advancement has been recognized by several researchers (e.g., von Krogh, Ichijo & Nonaka, 2000). Moreover, by having knowledge (intellectual resources), an organization can understand how to exploit and develop its traditional resources better than its competitors can, even if some or all of those traditional resources are not unique (Zack, 1999).

With the growing awareness of the crucial role that knowledge can play in gaining competitive advantage, several issues with regard to knowledge management (KM) initiatives have challenged executives. The articulation of the relationship between an organization’s competitive strategy and its knowledge strategy is the most eminent. This chapter addresses the issue of how to align knowledge strategy with enterprise business strategy. Based on the premise that the realization of business value from KM investments requires alignment between business and knowledge strategies, the issue is addressed by developing a strategic alignment model for KM. This model, which is based on the Henderson-Venkatraman strategic alignment model, includes the external domains (opportunities/threat) and internal domains (capabilities/arrangements) of both business (B-) and knowledge (K-) strategies and the relationships between them. Furthermore, it provides alternative strategic choices. The model is used to study a KM initiative at Buckman Laboratories.

Several reference models have been developed for e-business systems. In spite of their differences the deep structure underlying them is identified with its three layers, namely, business, functional and resource layers. However, despite the importance of the functional layer little attention has been paid to the problem of which proper conceptual construct can be used for modeling it. Viewing e-business as a semiotic phenomenon, in which all the interactions among the involving parties aim at changing the state of an e-thing in both its visibility state space and its lifetime state space, the concepts of the “semiotic communicative situation” is introduced as the required modeling construct. It is defined as a dynamic construct that is composed of collection of interacting actors that are configured and re-configured to actualize certain semiotic actions that affect the states of e-things (e.g., e-order). The application of the proposed conceptual construct is illustrated by using it to build a simple functional model for an e-broker. The implications of the proposed conceptual construct are discussed.

Several weaknesses of information systems development methodologies have been identified and studied in the recent years. These weaknesses can be viewed from different perspectives such as: • The characteristics of the outcomes, i.e., information systems: The current methodologies are producing systems with rigid and inflexible that are difficult to maintain and to evolve (e.g., Loucopoulos, 1991). • The degree of the domain-independence: There is a gap between the way system development methodologies in the mainstream of scientific and technical literature and the way they are carried out in real life situations. This is mainly due to the domain-independence of most of these methodologies (Bansler & Bolker, 1993, Vessy & Glass, 1998). • The conceptual and philosophical bases: The dominance of the functionalistic view in the most of current methodologies (Hirschheim, Klein & Lyytinen, 1995, Iivari, 1991, Iivari, Hirschheim & Klein, 1998). In addition, most of information systems development methodologies under-utilize the richness of concepts and insights provided by new and emerging theories such as autopoiesis, self-organization, and fuzzy logic. Moreover, they do not accommodate the new emerging information systems and technologies such as component and framework technologies, web-enabled information systems and ERP.