Molluscicidal Activity of Legumes, Yellow Flame (Peltophorum Pterocarpum) and Raintree (Samanea Saman) on Freshwater Snails; Indoplanorbis Exustus (Pulmonata: Planorbidae) and Radix Quadrasi (Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae)

Acute toxicity by static bioassay of ground dried leaves (medium age) of leguminoses, yellow flame (Peltophorum pterocarpum) and rain tree (Samanea saman), in the form of ground powder solution, crude water and methanol extract was determined against target freshwater snails, Indoplanorbis exustus (Planorbidae) and Radix quadrasi (Lymnaeidae), and also on non-target species, red tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, and shrimp, Macrobrachium lanchesteri using static bioassay technique. The field-collected snails were examined for the infection of trematode larvae. 1. exustus was found to be the host to the two types of trematodes larvae (cercaria), namely furcocercous cercariae, bifurcated cercaria (schistosoma) and gymnocephalus cercariae, non-bifurcated tail cercaria (fasciola), whereas, R. quadrasi was found to be the host to the various types of gymnocephalus cercariae. The toxicity results indicated that molluscicidal and piscicidal activity is not limited to any particular plant species and that the dried ground leaves powder, crude water, and methanol extract; of P. plerocarpum and S. saman are toxic to the target and non-target species. However, toxicity of the crude methanol extracts of these plants exhibited the highest potency as compared to the crude water extract and dried ground leaves. The 24 h LC50 of crude water and methanol extract of P. pterocarpum against the target species was found to be within the standard range of World Health Organization (l00 mgtl) of being molluscicidally active. Based on the 24h LC50 values, the results indicated that the potency of P. pterocarpum treatments on the target snail species follow this trend; crude methanol extract (50.7- 55.6 mgtl) was the most potent, followed by crude water extract (64.9-72.7 mgtl) and the dried, ground powder (338.2-390.4 mgtl). Comparison test between 1. exustus and R. quadrasi showed that R. quadrasi was more sensitivity to crude methanol extract of P. pterocarpum than the S. saman, with 24h LCso value of 50.7 mg/l and 1 08 mgtl, respectively. Test carried out on the non-target species, shrimp, M lanchesteri was observed to be virtually absence of the toxic effect when exposed at the concentrations that kill 50% of the target snail species. But, red tilapia, 0. niloticus was more susceptible and LCso was obtained at the lower concentrations than the concentration that caused 50% mortality of the target snail species. The relationship of 24h LCso values to the different snail shell length of laboratory breed R. quadrasi and 1. exustus was also investigated using crude methanol extract of P. pterocarpum. Results indicated that the relationship between different shell length of R. quadrasi and 24h LCso was a positively correlated with r = 0.98, but the relationship was polynomial (quadratic) with the equation line of Y= 0.63 x2 -8.5x +42.7. In the case of 1. exuslus there was positive correlation between its sensitivity and its sizes, and relationship was linear with regression line of Y=2.77 x +8.3 and r of 0.96

Actor-network theory in consolidating collaborative web platform methodology for knowledge collaboration

Knowledge collaboration has been implemented in variety of ways to creates the knowledge sharing and individual knowledge, talents and information can be effectively used.Knowledge collaboration is all about relation and connection of involved actors and this cannot be separated. This relationship is translated through an Actor-Network Theory, which is a sociology theory.This research is to study how sociology theory can be used as an interpreting and solution tool in information system field, in this case for creating a collaborative web platform.This research shows how Actor-Network Theory can be embedded to system development methodology such as identifying list of requirements, analyzing current system and identifying the actor’s roles, but for the purpose of this article (at this stage) there is no research result presented

Ophthalmic Parasitosis: A Review Article

Ocular parasitosis in human is more prevalent in geographical areas where environmental factors and poor sanitary conditions favor the parasitism between man and animals. Lesions in the eye can be due to damage directly caused by the infectious pathogen, indirect pathology caused by toxic products, or the immune response incited by infections or ectopic parasitism. The epidemiology of parasitic ocular diseases reflects the habitat of the causative parasites as well as the habits and health status of the patient. An ocular examination may provide clues to the underlying disease/infection, and an awareness of the possibilities of travel-related pathology may shed light on an ocular presentation. This paper is a comprehensive review of the parasitic diseases of the eye. The majority of the clinically important species of parasites involved in eye infection are reviewed in this paper. Parasites are discussed by the disease or infection they cause

Creating Collaborative Platform for Knowledge Transfer Based on Actor-Network Theory

Knowledge management is a growth disciplines and has been widely used in organization to improve the effectiveness of the knowledge among the employee. The introduction of this concept has started in the midst of 50s where the concept of knowledge has been studied and has been enhanced to the new disciplines which are knowledge transfer and collaboration. Knowledge collaboration has been implemented creates the knowledge sharing and individual knowledge, talents and information can be effectively used. Knowledge collaboration is all about relation and connection of involved actor and this cannot be separated. This relationship is translated through an Actor-Network Theory, which is a sociology theory. This project is to study how sociology theory can be used as an interpreting and solution tool in information system field such as creating a collaborative web platform for IT Personnel in Polytechnic Malaysia. This project also shows how Actor-Network Theory can be related to system development activities such as identifying list of requirements, analyzing current system and identifying the actor’s roles. Once the actors, roles and the list of requirements have been identified, the ANT Framework for collaborative web platform has been built to represent the actor’s structure that relate. Actor-Network Diagram has been built to show the relationship among the actors. Lately, many researches has used this theory to produce and solve the problem. In briefly, the research has showed the implementation of sociology theory in information system and technology field

Stigma versus Mental Health Literacy: Saudi Public knowledge and Attitudes Towards Mental Disorders

Background: A sound mental health is the key component of health and the absence of mental health could create a great deal of burden to the functioning of a nation. As well the attitudes of the public towards mental health issues are important factors in fighting the stigma with mental disorders Aim: To investigate the Saudi people level of mental health literacy and attitudes regarding mental disorders and those affected people. Participants and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional survey was used and a convenient sample of 255 subjects from general Saudi population attending to general public collections area, such as, shopping malls, universities, and restaurants in Jeddah city. The tool consisted of sociodemographic data sheet and self-administered checklist developed by Kumar et al., 2012 for assessing the attitude and awareness level of public towards mental disorders. Results: A total of 255 people were interviewed. Most of the respondents 66.3% were females and the majority of the studied population have little awareness and had negative attitude toward the nature of mental illness as well 72.2% indicted that Evil Spirit causing mental illness. Negative attitude responses were ranging from 47 -57% regarding stigmatization, after effect and treatment. Conclusion and recommendations: the findings concluded that there was a decreased level of mental health literacy among studied population as well as negative attitudes and stigmatization of mental illness. Therefore, more work needs to be done to educate the public about the psychobiological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders and the value of effective treatments

BIODEGRADABLE HEAT INSULATION COMPOSITES BASED ON POLY(β-HYDROXYBUTYRATE) AND DATE PALM WOOD

Residential buildings contribute the most to energy consumption. It was found that energy savings of 20% can be achieved through the thermal insulation of residential buildings in the United Arab Emirates. For this reason, research has been conducted in the field of sustainable thermal insulation materials. Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) are a relatively new generation of biocomposites and are particularly suitable for construction and building applications, which offers high thermal and acoustic insulation properties., reducing carbon emissions and decreasing negative impacts on the environment due to their biodegradability, sustainability, renewability, and recyclability. The first part of this study investigated the thermal insulation properties of Date Palm Fiber (DPF) reinforced Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate (PHB) biocomposites. In the second part, the limitations of the biocomposite were overcome by modifying the surface of DPF through chemical treatments and coating it with biodegradable polymers and flame retardants. The biocomposites obtained were prepared by melt mixing, hot pressing and annealing. The effects of loading raw and modified DPF on the prepared composites were studied to evaluate the physical, thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal Gravimetry (TGA), and bomb calorimeter were used to investigate and confirm the results of the developed composites. The results showed that the incorporation of DPF into the PHB matrix increased the thermal stability of the composites. The composites containing 30wt.% DPF showed the highest compressive strength (65 MPa) and exhibited thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of 0.092 W/(m.K) and 0.041 mm2/s, respectively. In the chemical treatments, the alkaline treatment was used to clean the surface of the DPF from impurities. The alkaline treatment increased the tensile strength of the 20% composite from 16 MPa to 21 MPa. In addition, the silane treatment decreased the hydrophilicity of the DPF, which improved the interfacial adhesion between the DPF and PHB. The silane coupling agent 3- Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was used with two grafting solvents (acetone and ethanol). The composites coated with biodegradable polymers (Polylactic Acid and PHB) also showed significant improvement in water resistance and compatibility. Silane- viii Ethanol composites (PHB-SE) showed higher tensile strength than the silane-acetone composites (PHB-SA) and also higher water resistance. The 40% PHB-SE increased tensile strength by 87.5% and reduced water absorption by 21%. The obtained thermal conductivity of the developed composites ranges from 0.0901 W⁄(m. K) and 0.1065 W⁄(m. K), which is a reasonable thermal insulation capacity. The chemical additive was used to improve fire resistance with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP). In addition, water absorption was reduced by the formation of furan compounds. Finally, thermal conductivity was reduced from 0.0916 W/(m.K) to 0.0523 W/(m.K) for the whole composite. ADP increased thermal stability and fire resistance. These results suggest that this fully biocomposite could be a potential candidate for construction-related applications with an extended service life, which could be considered as replacement for used petroleum-based insulation material (Polystyrene)

Pessimism Feature is Reflected in One of Thomas Hardy’s Poems “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” As One of the Features of Modernism.

The study highlights pessimism as one of the features of modernism.  The study displays Thomas hardy’s poem “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” The study shows how the poet reflects his pessimistic experiences in this poem. The objective of the study shows how the feature of pessimistic played a big role in modernism. The study concludes that not pessimism is the only feature reflected in this poem but also other factors like selfishness, and narcissism. Birth and death are mores of life and no one lasts in this cosmos. KEY WORDS: pessimism, death, modernism, selfishness and narcissism. DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/91-03 Publication date:September 30th 202

Vitamin A downregulating Bcl-2 and TGF-? expression during colon cancer in AFB1-induced female rats

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most toxic and is usually predominant. Aflatoxins are not only contaminate our food stuffs, but also are found in edible tissues, milk and eggs. The present study designated to clarify the immunomodulatory effect of vitamin A and if it could ameliorate the cancerous effects of AFB1 on histopathological, ultrastucture and immunohistochemical changes of rat colon. Group (I): Animals of this group was normal control. Group (II): Rats of this group were orally administered vehicle 50% dimethylsulfoxide. While, animals in Group (III) were administered 132 IU Vitamin A, and rats in Group (IV) were administered 0.05 ?g/kg AFB1 dissolved in 50% dimethylsulfoxide for 14 weeks. Group (V): Animals of this group were administered AFB1 with Vitamin A. AFB1 administration caused colon damage characterized by aberrant crypt foci, which authenticated with the increase in mucous production, Bcl-2 and TGF-? expression. The immunological effect of vitamin A appeared in the improved histological picture of the colon tissue and the decrease in Bcl-2 and TGF-? expression. This is the first study to report the immunomodulatory effect of vitamin A on Bcl-2 and TGF-? in AFB1-induced colon cancer. Keywords: Colon cancer - Aflatoxin B1- Vitamin A- Bcl-2 - TGF-? - young female rats

ANTICANCER AND IMMUNE-BOOSTING ACTIVITIES OF Moringa SPECIES

Cancer is the leading cause of death globally. Imitative drugs are prescribed to patients caused severe adverse effects that caused weakness and losing power of patients. Although many drugs used against several types of cancer, more specific agents with lower side effects are necessary. Natural medicinal plants are used as antitumor and chemo-preventive agents in numerous experimental models of carcinogenesis. Moringa tree have shown to be effective against several ailments including cancer which was attributed to its bioactive constituents. These phytochemical compounds proved that they have potential anticancer agents. However, proliferation and the induction of apoptosis are regulated by several mechanisms. The current review will discuss the mechanism by which Moringa could fight different types of cancer and its role as an immune-boosting agent