Site adaptations of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) tilapiae: Observations through light and scanning electron microscopy

Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) tilapiae parasites were collected from the intestines of 300 fish belonging to three tilapia species sourced at the River Nile, Giza, Egypt. The proboscis of the parasite was characterized by three rows of hooks that curved towards the posterior of the body. The first row is supported by unmodified hooks. The parasite tegument has a series of alternative folds and a large number of pores. Sensory ganglia are located on the surface of the proboscis and body. Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) tilapiae provokes an aggressive host response indicated by hyperplasia of the intestinal goblet cells and focal eosinophil infiltrations. This acanthocephalan parasite shows a highly modified adaptation to its site of host infection

Improving Employment and Income through Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector (IEIDEAS) project

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)-funded Improving Employment and Income through Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector (IEIDEAS) project was implemented by WorldFish in partnership with CARE Egypt and the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation from 2011 to 2014 and later extended to November 2015. The project focused on four governorates with significant aquaculture production (Kafr El Sheikh, Behera, Sharkia and Fayoum) and one governorate (El Mineya), where aquaculture was a new activity. The project was based on a value chain analysis conducted by WorldFish in September 2011 that identified the aquaculture value chain as a significant employer, particularly in rural areas. The analysis suggested that there was scope to increase employment of youth and women in the aquaculture sector The main objective was to increase aquaculture production by 10% and create 10,000 jobs. Other objectives included improving profitability for existing producers, securing employment for women fish retailers, expanding aquaculture in El Mineya and improving the policy environment for aquaculture

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated

Analytical solution of strongly nonlinear Duffing oscillators

In this paper, a new perturbation technique is employed to solve strongly nonlinear Duffing oscillators, in which a new parameter α=α(ε) is defined such that the value of α is always small regardless of the magnitude of the original parameter ε. Therefore, the strongly nonlinear Duffing oscillators with large parameter ε are transformed into a small parameter system with respect to α. Approximate solution obtained by the present method is compared with the solution of energy balance method, homotopy perturbation method, global error minimization method and lastly numerical solution. We observe from the results that this method is very simple, easy to apply, and gives a very good accuracy not only for small parameter εbut also for large values of ε

Impact of ZnMn2O4/CdS nanocomposite on the structural, optical and dielectric characteristics of PMMA/PEO blend

Herein, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO) blend doped with nanocomposite (1 − x) ZnMn2O4/xCdS samples were prepared through two steps, the first comprising nanocomposite (1 − x) ZnMn2O4/xCdS samples synthesizing, while the second was the incorporation of nanocomposites into the blend matrix, and finally the films were obtained through the casting solution method. Various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, diffused reflection and impedance spectroscopy were used to determine the change in the PMMA/PEO structure after the inclusion of the nanocomposites. The direct and indirect optical bandgap values for the PMMA/PEO blend decreased from 5.04 and 4.8 eV to 4.99 and 4.7 eV, respectively, as the blend doped with (1 − x) ZnMn2O4/xCdS samples. At 600 nm, the refractive index of the blend was raised from 1.37 to 1.53 as it doped with 0.9 ZnMn2O4/0.1CdS sample. The linear and nonlinear optical parameters grow with the insertion of (1-x)ZnMn2O4/xCdS nanocomposites into the PMMA/PEO blend. Variation of CdS in the doped nanocomposites affects slightly the linear and nonlinear optical parameters of the host blend. Blend containing 10 % CdS has the highest linear and nonlinear optical parameters as compared with other doped blends. All of the blends exhibited different shades of blue color, except for the blend that contained 10 % CdS, which displayed a violet color. The effect of doping on the dielectric properties of different blends was also explored. Blend with 20 % CdS has the highest energy density. This improvement implies the use of prepared blends in different optoelectronic, photocatalytic and storage device applications

Silica, alumina and aluminosilicates as solid stationary phases in gas chromatography

Silica, alumina and Aluminosilicates of different Si/Al ratios were prepared by conventional precipitation or co-precipitation methods and then subjected to thermal treatment at 800 °C. The parent and thermally treated materials were characterized by means of FTIR, SEM and thermal analysis (DTA and TGA) in order to elucidate the main structural properties. Surface textural characteristics were investigated by means of nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms at −196 °C. Pore size distribution curves indicated the presence of mesopores (10–150 Å) exhibiting maxima at 35 Å. The maxima were shifted toward higher values by increasing the alumina content. Thermodynamic parameters, ΔH, ΔG and ΔS, were determined by means of inverse gas chromatography using n-hexane as a probe. The untreated and thermally treated materials were tested as solid stationary phases in gas chromatography. The separation efficiency of various non polar and polar compounds was explained in terms of surface texture and thermodynamic parameters