Proposed Considerations to Improve Funding and Its Management in Universities of the Arabic Countries

Universities receive a great deal of attention by governments due to its vast importance in development and economy. Productive type of universities are the most affective in this regard as they are producers of income, research, patents, intellectual activities, and good graduates. No wonder, they are always ranked highly among international universities. Very few Arabic universities are of this type and were able to make it in international rankings. Several reasons for this shy appearance of Arabic universities, of which funding and its management are of prime importance. This study aimed to find out ways to improve the status of Arabic Universities in this regard. Several funding indicators were found to be positively related to good ranking of universities namely: total income, governmental funding, income/students, and extent of financial autonomy. In this context, this study recommends the following considerations to be addressed to improve the funding environment of Arabic universities: differentiation, privatization, self-funding, endowments, number of students, diversification of income, intellectual concentration, and regulations. International universities do not differ a lot from the Arabic universities in capabilities and abilities. Its main superiority is in its organization, governance and administration. If the Arabic universities improve their environment by making it more productive, stimulative, and attractive of minds, it will make it among the suburb international universities. Key Words: Arabic Universities, University funding, University Ranking

Wind reduction patterns around isolated biomass for wind erosion control in a desertified area of Central Sudan

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of sparse vegetation, feature common in arid zone, to reduce wind force (velocity) and hence protect the surface and regions downwind from drifting sand and their consequences. Respectively 4 (with heights h of 4, 3.2, 2 and 1.66 m), 2 (with h of 3 and 2.5 m) and 3 (with h of 1.04, 0.9 and 0.8 m ) well established single biomass configurations of Leptadenia pyrotechnica trees, Prosopis juliflora trees and Panicum turgidum grass, were selected in the field. Solar powered cup anemometer wind measurements with a data logger system were taken at heights of 0.25 and 0.5 h, at distances 0.5 and 1 h, at four sides of the tree in the prevailing wind direction and perpendicular to it, and additionally at 2, 4 and 6 h windward and leeward. The protection effectiveness of the biomass was calculated as a wind reduction ratio and in terms of objects protection, which was evaluated using the dimensionless protection index (É). The study showed that windward protection provided by Leptadenia and Prosopis at level 0.25h and distance 0.5 h was similar, w ith a wind reduction ratio R0.8, while Panicum showed comparably higher R-values. Even at the 0.5 h level, Panicum showed an R of 0.65 at 0.5 h distance. Leew ard, at 0.25 h level differences were small, R increasing from 0.6/0.7 to 0.8/1 with distance, Leptadenia protecting best. At higher level (0.5 h) at distances 0.5 and 1 h Prosopis gave better protection than the other two at distances 0.5, 1 and 2 h. The research is an exam ple of simple experimental work under difficult environmental conditions in Africa. It was part of studies in which additional attention was paid to quantification aspects under such conditions as well as to the problems it helped solve in the African societies concerned as agrometeorological service

Detection of Surface Cracks in Metals using Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Nondestructive Testing Techniques-A Review

Integrity Assessment of Metallic Structures Requires Inspection Tools Capable of Detecting and Evaluating Cracks Reliably. to This End, Many Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT&E) Methods Have Been Developed and Applied Successfully in the Past. Detection of Fatigue Cracks with Widths Less Than 5 Μ M using Noncontact Microwave-Based Inspection Methods Was Demonstrated in the 1970s. Since their Introduction, These Methods Have Evolved Considerably Toward Enhancing the Detection Sensitivity and Resolution. Undertaking Key Application Challenges Has Attracted Considerable Attention in the Past Three Decades and Led to the Development of the Near-Field Techniques for Crack Detection. to Address a Need that Cannot Be Fulfilled by Other NDT&E Modalities, Innovative Noncontact Microwave and Millimeter-Wave NDT&E Methods Were Devised Recently to Detect Cracks of Arbitrary Orientations under Thick Dielectric Structures. While the Reported Methods Share the Same Underlying Physical Principles, They Vary Considerably in Terms of the Devised Probes/sensors and the Application Procedure. Consequently, their Sensitivity and Resolution as Well as their Limitations Vary. This Article Reviews the Various Crack Detection Methods Developed To-Date and Compares Them in Terms of Common Performance Metrics. This Comprehensive Review is Augmented with Experimental Comparisons and Benchmarking Aimed to Benefit NDT&E Practitioners and Researchers Alike

Hydrology and Sediment Loading in a Degrading Natural Lake System in Malaysia

Hydrology and suspended sediment loading in the catchment of the natural Chini Lake (second largest natural lake in Malaysia) was investigated. Suspended sediment loads and discharge from seven selected feeder rivers were measured over a period of 1 year from January to December 2006. The river water flow rate during the sampling periods was relatively low, ranging from 0.001 to 1.31 m3/s or an average of 0.21 m3/s. The highest and lowest stream flow discharge rates were recorded from the Gumum and Cenahan River sub-catchment areas, respectively. The amount of sediment load ranged from 0.49 to 166.02 kg/km2/day or an average of 30.57 kg/km2/day in the study area. The highest sediment load was recorded in the wet season and the lowest in the dry season. Anthropogenic activities have significantly affected the hydrological functions and availability of the suspended sediments, and have thus influenced the variation in sediment output in the study area

Optimization of the industrial production of bacterial alpha amylase in Egypt. IV. Fermentor production and characterization of the enzyme of two strains of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

Production of alpha amylase using amplified variants of Bacillus subtilis (strain SCH) and of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (strain 267CH) was conducted in a bioreactor with multiprotein-mineral media. Thetime course of fermentation in a bioreactor revealed that the highest yield (about 8 x 104 U/ml within 60 h) by strain SCH was obtained by applying: 3.5% initial starch, 2% additional starch after 19 h, 3 vvmaeration and 300 rpm agitation. The highest yield (about 19 x 104 U/ml within 100 h) by strain 267CH was obtained by applying: 2.5% initial starch, 2% additional starch after 24 h, 3 vvm aeration, and 300 rpmagitation with the productivity after 60 h reaching only about 14 x 104 U/ml. Production occurred in both the logarithmic and postlogarithmic phases of growth. Maximum consumption of starch and proteinoccurred during the first day of incubation. The optical density peak coincided with enzyme production peak in case of strain SCH and preceded that of enzyme production in case of strain 267CH. The alphaamylase produced by the two strains was shown to be of the liquefying and not the saccharifying type. Both enzymes liquefied starch to a dextrose equivalent of about 15 - 17 at 95oC hence they areclassified among thermostable alpha amylases. They exhibited broad pH and temperature activity profiles. The optimum pH for activity was 4 - 7 for alpha amylase produced by strain SCH and 4 - 8 foralpha amylase produced by strain 267CH while the optimum temperatures for their activities were in the range 37 -75oC at 0.5% starch and in the range 85 - 95oC at 35% starch

Comparative study of the noise generated by the moto-compressor and that generated by the turbo-compressor

The fundamental aim of this study is to compare between the noise generated by the moto-compressor and the noise generated by the turbo-compressor operating  24H/24H on the continuous function mode; these two machines make part of the equipment of the GP1Z, a factory of hydrocarbon treatment. To attain the principal objective of this study we divided our work into two parts, in the first part we followed and evaluated the average level of the noise emitted by the two machines, whereas in the second part we studied the noise propagation emitted by the two machines and its impact on the generation of the noise. The results obtained from this study demonstrate that the noise generated by the turbo-compressor is higher than the noise generated by the  moto-compressor.Keywords: noise; moto-compressor; turbo-compressor; noise maping

Design of metallic nanoparticles gratings for filtering properties in the visible spectrum

Plasmonic resonances in metallic nanoparticles are exploited to create efficient optical filtering functions. A Finite Element Method is used to model metallic nanoparticles gratings. The accuracy of this method is shown by comparing numerical results with measurements on a two-dimensional grating of gold nanocylinders with elliptic cross section. Then a parametric analysis is performed in order to design efficient filters with polarization dependent properties together with high transparency over the visible range. The behavior of nanoparticle gratings is also modelled using the Maxwell-Garnett homogenization theory and analyzed by comparison with the diffraction by a single nanoparticle. The proposed structures are intended to be included in optical systems which could find innovative applications.Comment: submitted to Applied Optic