Mining association rules has been an important topic in data mining research in recent years from the standpoint of supporting human-centered discovery of knowledge. The present day model of mining association rules suffers from the following shortcomings: (i) lack of user exploration and control, (ii) lack of focus, (iii) huge number of rules technically unreadable. All data mining researchers, have given a high importance on developing fast algorithms for rules discovery, and have applied different types of constraints in different algorithms to prune item sets, that do not occur frequently ...

Candida albicans, is usually a harmless fungus in healthy individuals, but life-threatening when found in large quantities or in inappropriate parts of the body. It developed resistance against the antifungal drugs fluconazole and amphotericin B, used in an abusive way, by adopting different mechanisms. Medicinal plants, which offer a wide variety of secondary metabolites, especially saponins, have been reported for their large biological activities. These phytochemicals are composed of a hydrophobic part (aglycone) and a hydrophilic one (glycone), which, based on their aglycone part, are ...

Lebanon’s economic growth trajectory has been affected by domestic and regional political events, as consumer and investor confidence has withered. The 1975-1990 civil war weakened the government’s ability to provide public services and provided further space for the private sector participation. PPP’s are not new in Lebanon; the country has a long history of private sector participation in the delivery of public infrastructure services especially in the electricity sector which traces back to concessions. The energy sector in Lebanon is a key contributor to the country’s current fiscal constraints. ...

This thesis discusses the topic of learning in a complex environment. Both the historical basis of the field and a broad selection of the current works are summarized. Reinforcement learning is the problem faced by an agent that learns behavior through trial-and-error interactions with a dynamic environment. The work described here has a resemblance to work in psychology, but considerably in the details and in the use of the word "reinforcement". We describe the foundations of new field of reinforcement learning named artificial economy. We experiment with a prototype based on the artificial ...

An extraction protocol for saponins of Styrax Officinalis plant was adopted, modified and successfully applied. The extract obtained was tested by stabilizing Oil-in-Water emulsions. Ethanol extraction and successful one-step partial purification using AB-8 adsorption column chromatography yielded positive colorimetric (Vanillin – Sulfuric Acid) TLC results. The 3D structure of the four Styrax Officinalis saponins reported in the literature were rendered for the first time, and their partitioning properties exclusively acquired using Marvin Sketch chemical drawing software. 10% w/w Sunflower Oil ...

“The first law of thermodynamics says that the total quantity of energy in the universe remains constant. This is the principle of the conservation of energy. The second law of thermodynamics, which is controlled by the concept of entropy, states that the quality of this energy is degraded irreversibly. It is the principle of the degradation of energy.” (Rosnay 1998). (See figure1. Entropy Law Graph. (Skarameas, 1985) page 1). Based on the above, and making use of the opportunities provided by the era of liberation, and due to the predominant lack of public awareness of energy saving (see ...

Introduction: Eating Disorders (EDs) are mental illnesses that affect all individuals worldwide, causing severe complications. EDs can be divided into classical (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge-Eating Disorder), and non-classical (Pica, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, and Night Eating Syndrome). Several risk factors might lead to their development, in particular, stressful life events. The current COVID-19 pandemic is imposing psychological distress, mainly on individuals with existing mental health issues. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed the prevalence of ...

Introduction: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), or the obsession with healthy eating is a new eating disorder that has gained popularity in the recent years. A very limited amount of literature exists regarding ON in Arab countries including Lebanon. The objective of the current study was to assess the prevalence of ON in a representative sample of Lebanese university students, and different factors that might affect ON development. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 349 university students from three Lebanese regions: Mount Lebanon, North, and Shouf. The ORTO-15 scale was used to assess ON ...

“In the truth there is no news and in the news there is no truth”, a soviet-era political joke, still applies to the present times. This study will highlight all the communication forms and how they are used nowadays as a tool for propaganda especially in the digital world. When website traffic, clicks, and reach are at stake, information disorder in the form of misleading/fake information would be used as a tool to enhance data metrics across the digital world. This study tackles information disorder during all its phases: creation, production, communication, and the user experience through ...

Metadata is considered a very useful and valuable component in handing data and delivering decisional information, in managing contents on the Internet, in databases and warehouses, in enabling the finding of relevant information, and in effectively providing a multiplicity of useful services. Data, in point of facts, can be metaphorically compared to a dead substance; and all acknowledge the fact that data, by merely existing in systems, represents almost nothing. However, it is the awareness of the exact length and value of this data that builds the valuable expensive information. This thesis ...