Check Archive

August 2009

• Journal of Clinical Oncology of August 2 published a report by a research team from the Departments of Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Internal Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center entitled, “Axillary Lymph Node Ratio Revisited.”

• Masrawy (Egypt) and www.aljazeera.net (Qatar) of August 2, An-Nahar, As-Safir, Al-Akhbar, The Daily Star, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Liwa', and Al-Bayraq, IRIBNews (Iran), Cham Press (Syria), Ad-Dustur (Jordan), The Guardian Unlimited (Britain), Al-Jareeda (Kuwait), Al-Waqt (Bahrain), The Gulf News (UAE), and Al-Quds (Palestine) of August 3, and www.cyberia.net, At-Tajdeed Al-Arabi (Other) of August 4, and Al-Maghribia (Morocco) and The Electronic Intifada (USA) of August 5 announced the death of Shafik El Hout, one of the founders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) who served as its official spokesman from 1974 until 1992 and as its longtime representative in Beirut. Mr. El Hout died at AUBMC at the age of 77. The papers said that El Hout graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1953.

• Knoe-TV, FOX 47, and Townhall.com of August 3 and AL.com, WOI ABC-5, Salon.com, and Ktla.com of August 2 published the obituary of Shafiq al-Hout, one of the founding members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and close aide to Yasser Arafat. Born in Jaffa on January 13, 1932, Hout immigrated with his family to Lebanon in 1948 following the creation of Israel. After graduating from the American University of Beirut in 1953, Hout worked as a schoolteacher in Beirut before moving to teach in Kuwait. He served as the PLO's official spokesman between 1974 until 1992 and was a longtime PLO representative in Beirut.

• WBOC CBS-16 of August 4 published the contact information of Dr. Khaled Eljazzar, board-certified in interventional cardiology, cardiology and internal medicine, at Bayhealth Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at The George Washington University.

• Oil Voice of August 5 published an article by Paul Stevens, a Senior Research Fellow (Energy) at Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs) in London, about the challenges facing Australia during the world financial crisis. Stevens worked as a professor at the American University of Beirut from 1973-79. In March 2009 he was presented with the OPEC Award in recognition of his outstanding work in the field of oil and energy research.

• Market Place of August 5 reported on the thriving women-only businesses in Beirut, such as the women-only taxi service, and credit cards dedicated solely for women. George Najjar, Dean of the School of Business at the American University of Beirut, said, “We are moving very fast towards a world of equality where women are given their due. And this is nobody's favor, they have earned it.”

• IRC of August 6 published a report entitled, “Combating diarrhea in rural Lebanon: understanding water, understanding health: the case of Bebnine,” from the American University of Beirut.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) and As-Safir of August 7 reported that the Lebanese security forces found the New TV correspondent Anwar Yassine who went missing for 19 hours and transported him to AUBMC to undergo some medical tests.

• America.gov of August 12 reported that Lebanese engineer Bassam Jalgha has won the Arab reality television show “Stars of Science.” His winning idea was an automated tuner for the oud musical instrument. Jalgha was first inspired to blend music and engineering while he was studying mechanical engineering at the American University of Beirut. Prior to joining AUB, he had earned a music degree from the Lebanese National Conservatory.

• RedOrbit, News Guide, and Bright Surf of August 12 reported on a trial on the efficacy of imipramine in the treatment of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) that was conducted at the American University of Beirut Medical Center from 2004 until 2006. The results were significant for showing improvement in global symptoms during and after 12 weeks of therapy with the medication. There was also notable improvement in general quality of life as measured by a standardized questionnaire.

• Asia Times of August 13 reported that Syria played a role in the release of French-Iranian prisoner Nazak Afshar from Iranian jail, therefore winning it favor with France. The article reported that this was not the first time that Syria had mediated the release of a western prisoner from Iranian or anti-western sides. It said, “During the long years of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), Syria helped secure the release of American hostages, notably the president of the American University of Beirut, David Dodge, after he had been abducted by militias linked to Tehran.”

• Telegram.com of August 13 reported that Jacques Wehbe has been named director of physician services at Saint Vincent Hospital. He received a medical technology diploma from the American University of Beirut, a BS in health care management from California State University — Dominguez Hills, and an MS in hospital administration from California State University — Northridge. He is a certified medical practice executive for the American College of Medical Executives as well as the president of the MA/RI Medical Group Management Association.

• The Seattle Times and Starnewsonline.com of August 14 reported on Afghani presidential candidate, Ashraf Ghani, whom the article described as “the most educated and westernized of Afghanistan's presidential candidates”. In the 1970s, he studied at the American University of Beirut and later earned a doctorate in anthropology at Columbia in 1982. He taught at Johns Hopkins University, and in 1991, he joined the World Bank.

• Cyprus Mail of August 14 reported that 141 items of Cypriot antiquity on display at the Archaeological Museum of The American University of Beirut have been catalogued for the A.G Leventis Foundation. The publication of the catalogue is part of a project by the Leventis Foundation to make known all the main collections of Cypriot antiquities in museums worldwide.

• Scoop of August 16 and the Palestine Chronicle of August 15 reported on Israel’s increasing threats against Lebanon, a development that may hint to the possible eruption of a new war between the two sides. Hilal Khashan, chairman of the department of political science at the American University of Beirut, said “It is clear that the Israelis are setting the stage for the resumption of hostilities. For the past year their statements about Hizbullah have been accelerating. They are telling the international community about their intentions. They want to fight another war against Hizbullah.”

• Eventseer.net of August 17 published a case study by a research team from Lebanon, entitled, “Building a Knowledge Management System in a Design Firm: The Case of XYZ Structural Department.” The research team included Toufic Mezher and M.A. Abdul-Malak from the American University of Beirut and Mohamad Khaled and Ibrahim El-Khatib from XYZ Engineering Company.

• Montana’s News Station of August 18 reported on new appointments at Montana State University’s (MSU) College of Arts and Architecture that included the appointment of Faith A. Raifki as director of the MSU School of Architecture. Rifki had been the dean of the School of Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah since 2005. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture. He holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon.

• Inside Higher ED of August 19 reported that Ahmad Dallal, chairman of the Arabic and Islamic studies department at Georgetown University, has been appointed as provost at the American University of Beirut.

• Journal of Clinical Oncology of August 20 published a letter to the editor from a number of doctors from the American University of Beirut Medical Center responding to an article examining the superiority of the lymph node ratio (LNR) to the absolute number of positive lymph nodes (pN) as a prognostic indicator in patients with lymph node–positive breast cancer.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of August 22 published an article investigating the reasons behind Argentinean poet Jorge Luis Borges's translation of one of Al-Mutanabbi's poems on a menu of a Lebanese restaurant in Buenos Aires. The paper said that Borges was influenced by Arab culture and language due to his Spanish descent and due to the presence of a large intellectual Lebanese expatriate community in Argentina, some of whom were graduates of AUB.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of August 22 published a review of Kareem Mroueh's recently-published book Fi Al-Bahth 'an Al-Mustaqbal (In the Search for the Future) published by Dar Al-Saqi Press. The paper said that the author cited a book available at the American University of Beirut library entitled Qadaya Al-Khilaf fi Al-Hizb Al-Shuyu'i Al-Suri (Issues of Dispute in the Syrian Communist Party).

• Liao Ning Gateway of August 28, People’s Daily of August 27, and Sina of August 26 reported on the obstacles hindering the formation of a new Lebanese government. The challenges mainly center on the various political parties vying for a seat in the new cabinet. Hilal Khashan, head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut, said, “Lebanon is a small country with very few available political resources but a lot of factions. Too many people want to take part in politics.”

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of August 28 published an opinion piece by Jihad El-Khazen in which he says that when pursuing his master's degree in Arabic literature he was supervised at AUB by professor Ihsan Abbas.

• NCBI of August 30 published the abstract of a report by a research team from the American University of Beirut’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science entitled, “The characterization of the physicochemical and sensory properties of full-fat, reduced-fat, and low-fat ovine and bovine Halloumi.”