Al Zawiya University

About: Al Zawiya University is a education organization based out in Az Zāwīyah, Libya. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Computer science & Chemistry. The organization has 96 authors who have published 136 publications receiving 1136 citations. The organization is also known as: al-Zawiya University & Al Zawiya University.

Factors influencing retention among hospital nurses: systematic review.

Abstract: Background: Recruitment and retention of nursing staff is the biggest workforce challenge faced by healthcare institutions. Across the UK, there are currently around 50 000 nursing vacancies, and t...

Tests of continuous concrete slabs reinforced with carbon fibre reinforced polymer bars

Abstract: Although several research studies have been conducted on simply supported concrete elements reinforced with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bars, there is little reported work on the behaviour of continuous elements. This paper reports the testing of four continuously supported concrete slabs reinforced with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars. Different arrangements of CFRP reinforcement at mid-span and over the middle support were considered. Two simply supported concrete slabs reinforced with under and over CFRP reinforcement and a continuous concrete slab reinforced with steel bars were also tested for comparison purposes. All continuous CFRP reinforced concrete slabs exhibited a combined shear–flexure failure mode. It was also shown that increasing the bottom mid-span CFRP reinforcement of continuous slabs is more effective than the top over middle support CFRP reinforcement in improving the load capacity and reducing mid-span deflections. The ACI 440.1R–06 formulas overestimated the experimental moment at failure but better predicted the load capacity of continuous CFRP reinforced concrete slabs tested. The ACI 440.1R–06, ISIS–M03–07 and CSA S806-06 design code equations reasonably predicted the deflections of the CFRP continuously supported slabs having under reinforcement at the bottom layer but underestimated deflections of continuous slabs with over-reinforcement at the bottom layer.

Concerns for low-resource countries, with under-prepared intensive care units, facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract: Background Low-resource countries with fragile healthcare systems lack trained healthcare professionals and specialized resources for COVID-19 patient hospitalization, including mechanical ventilators. Additional socio-economic complications such as civil war and financial crisis in Libya and other low-resource countries further complicate healthcare delivery. Methods A cross-sectional survey evaluating hospital and intensive care unit's capacity and readiness was performed from 16 leading Libyan hospitals in March 2020. In addition, a survey was conducted among 400 doctors who worked in these hospitals to evaluate the status of personal protective equipment. Results Out of 16 hospitals, the highest hospital capacity was 1000 in-patient beds, while the lowest was 25 beds with a median of 200 (IQR 52–417, range 25–1000) hospital beds. However, a median of only eight (IQR 6–14, range 3–37) available functioning ICU beds were reported in these hospitals. Only 9 (IQR 4.5–14, range 2–20) mechanical ventilators were reported and none of the hospitals had a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction machine for COVID-19 testing. Moreover, they relied on one of two central laboratories located in major cities. Our PPE survey revealed that 56.7% hospitals lacked PPE and 53% of healthcare workers reported that they did not receive proper PPE training. In addition, 70% reported that they were buying the PPE themselves as hospitals did not provide them. Conclusion This study provides an alarming overview of the unpreparedness of Libyan hospitals for detecting and treating patients with COVID-19 and limiting the spread of the pandemic.