Egypt’s dispersed heritage: Multi-directional storytelling through comic art

This paper responds to a need to address the colonial history of collections of Egyptian archaeology and to find new ways in which Egyptian audiences can assume greater agency in such a process. The ‘Egypt’s Dispersed Heritage’ project presents a model of engagement whereby foreign museum collections become the inspiration for Egyptians to express their own feelings about the removal of their heritage abroad using idioms and traditional storytelling of cultural relevance to them. A series of online comics confronting contentious heritage issues, including the display of mummified human remains, eugenics, looting and destruction, is discussed. It is argued that this approach is not only more relatable for Egyptian communities, but moreover provides space for the development of grass-roots critique of heritage practices, both in the UK and in Egypt. Museums have a responsibility to take on board these critiques, curating not just objects but relationships forged amongst them in historical and contemporary society

Empathy toward Patients with Mental Illness among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: Impact of a Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health Educational Experience

Empathy is an ability and skill that can be learned and developed through appropriate education and practice. While the importance of nurses' empathy is widely acknowledged, little is known about the impact of passing through the psychiatric nursing and mental health educational experience at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University on students' level of empathy. This study aimed to assess the change in level of empathy toward patients with mental illness among baccalaureate nursing students before and after completing a psychiatric nursing and mental health educational experience. The study followed a cross-sectional exploratory research design. It was conducted on 204 students in the eighth semester of the academic year 2012-2013, who were enrolled in the course of psychiatric nursing and mental health. A Student's Socio-demographic Characteristics and Previous Experience with Mental Illness Questionnaire and Empathy toward the Mentally Ill Scale were used to collect data. The results indicated that all students significantly achieved high levels of empathy after the psychiatric nursing experience. It was concluded that passing through a psychiatric nursing and mental health educational experience can improve baccalaureate nursing students' empathy toward patients with mental illness. Recommendations included the need for further studies compare between students’ levels empathy toward people with mental illness before and after completing various psychiatric nursing educational experiences at different faculties of nursing.   Keywords: Empathy; Mental illness; Nursing students; Psychiatric nursing educational experience

IMPROVING KEEPING QUALITY OF BUTTER BY UTILIZING MAILLARD REACTION PRODUCTS FROM HEATED WHEY

The antioxidaitve activity of Maillard reaction products MRPs) from heated whey added to butter was investigated. The antioxidant efficiency changed with different concentrations of MRPs used during storage period at 45ºC. Peroxide val-ue, thiobarbituric acid, acid value, carbonyl com-pounds and free fatty acids of butter were in-creased with storage. Their rate of increase de-creased with increasing the added amount of MRPs to butter

Evaluation of Allelopathic Potential of Rumex dentatus Root Extract and Allelochemicals on Cicer arietinum

The present study aimed to evaluate the allelopathic potential of root extract of Rumex dentatus L. and various allelochemicals on some physiological parameters in roots of Cicer arietinum L. The tested allelochemicals were benzoic, caffeic, cinnamic, ferulic, gallic, sinapic and vanillic acids. Seed germination of Cicer was inhibited by Rumex extract. Lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide production increased gradually in response to extract concentration as well as allelochemicals treatment. The total soluble protein decreased whereas the total phenol increased under the various treatments. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD: 1.15.1.1) and catalase (CAT: 1.11.1.6) increased continuously with increasing extract concentration. However, peroxidase (POD: 1.11.1.7) increased sharply at 2% (w/v) followed by reduction at the higher concentrations and reached 1.1 U g-1 fresh weight at 10% (w/v) which was still higher than that of the control value. Ferulic acid was the most effective inducer for SOD activity followed by cinnamic acid. The POD activity increased remarkably particularly with cinnamic, benzoic and gallic acids. Sinapic, ferulic and coumaric acids enhanced CAT activity by 150.4%, 139.5% and 124.4%, respectively. The results reveal the possible use of R. dentatus as bioherbicide

Investigating the efficacy of e-learning for Egyptian higher education

Using e-learning has become a credited learning delivery method in developed countries. The importance of this research arises from a widespread acknowledgement that implementing and evaluating quality in the learning process, whether it is face-to-face or e-learning, is important to guarantee the success of developing learners‘ understanding and knowledge.The research uses an instrumental case study to investigate the efficacy of e-learning in the Egyptian higher education context and to produce a model of implementing and evaluating quality in e-learning systems. Several methods are adopted including interviews, questionnaire, focus groups, VLE feedback, and a pre-post achievement test to collect the data.The study describes the participants‘ attitudes toward e-learning, what they perceive as quality e-learning systems and as critical success factors for implementing such systems inside the Egyptian higher education, and how they view the effectiveness and quality of e-learning systems. In addition, the study indicates that the majority of the participants are satisfied with using e-learning systems in their learning as long as the critical success factors are applied. This research also suggests that e-learning has a positive impact on learners‘ achievement levels

Emotional Intelligence among Baccalaureate Students at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt: A Cross-sectional Study

Emotional intelligence (EI) is seen as a necessity in health care practices, especially the nursing practice. Assessing levels of EI and ascertaining its progression among nursing students is essential for ensuring effective nursing education and competent professional nursing skills before graduation. This study aimed at assessing the level of emotional intelligence among baccalaureate students at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, and determining its development over the academic semesters. The study followed a cross-sectional descriptive design. It was conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, on 450 randomly selected students who registered in four semesters. A Socio-demographic and Academic Data Questionnaire, and Emotional Intelligence Scale, were used to collect data. The results indicated that the majority of the studied students in the four semesters had moderate levels of EI. The mean score of EI of the eighth semester's students was slightly increased by the end of the same semester. It was recommended that the student’s level of EI should be considered prior to entrance into the Faculty of Nursing, and EI concept should be incorporated into the nursing curriculum. Keywords: Emotional intelligence, Nursing students, Nursing education

PHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF THE PROMISING EGYPTIAN LONG STAPLE COTTON CROSS (GIZA 89 X GIZA 86)

A promising cotton inbred line characterized by high yielding ability, earliness in maturity and better fiber quality was developed via pedigree selection from the subsequent segregating generations of a cross between the two long-staple cvs.; Giza 89 and Giza 86 by the Cotton Breeding Section of the Cotton Research Institute. The purpose of this investigation aimed at assessment of the superiority of the physical and fine structural properties of the promising line derived from the cross (Giza 89 x Giza 86) over its parents. The results indicated that: -  The promising line surpassed its parents in upper half mean length, uniformity index, fiber strength, fiber elongation, micronaire value, maturity ratio, hair weight, dry fiber ribbon width, swollen fiber diameter, convolution number / cm., reversals number/ cm. and yarn strength. - There were highly significant positive correlations between upper half mean length, uniformity index, convolution number/cm., fiber bundle strength and yarn strength. - Highly significant negative correlations exhisted between dry fiber ribbon width, swollen fiber diameter, reversals number and bundle strength.   The promising line is now under propagation for growing as a commercial cultivar and would replace both parents in their growing areas

EFFECT OF SALINITY AND NITROGEN BIO-FERTILIZATION ON SOME SUDAN GRASS (SORGHUM SUDANENSE (L.) MOENCH) VARIETIES AT RAS SUDR

This study was carried out at Ras Sudr Experimental Station, South Sinai during 2001 and 2002 seasons. Four sudan grass varieties (Giza2, Piper, Hybrid102 and Is3214) were tested under five nitrogen fertilizer (Mineral and biofertilizer) treatments under two levels of irrigation water salinity (3700 and 9200 ppm). Growth characters i.e. plant height, number of tillers/plant, stem diameter, number of leaves/plant, leaf area, leaves/stem ratio, and forage yield (fresh and dry weight of stem+sheaths and fresh and dry weight of forage yield) were recorded. In addition, carbohydrates, protein, fibers and ash percentages (in leaves and stems) and proline in leaves were determined. Results demonstrate that the Piper variety had the highest value of forage yield compared with the other varieties. The recommended dose of mineral nitrogen fertilizer gave the highest values followed by mixture of biofertilizers (Azospirillum plus Azotobacter) under the two salinity levels of irrigation water at both cuts (the first one was harvested after 65 days from sowing date and the second was obtained at the same time interval). Moreover there was a significant decrease in all growth characteristics and the yield of four sudan grass varieties by increasing the level of irrigation water salinity from 3700 to 9200 ppm except proline in leaves which significantly increased by increasing the level of salinit

Avaliação da sorção de lindano sobre carvão ativado derivado de palha de arroz e biomassa fúngica de Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Rice straw was used for preparation of activated carbon using chemical activation by impregnation with concentrated H3 PO4 followed by pyrolysis at 500 º C for 2h. Physicochemical properties were investigated by several procedures; elemental analysis, scan electron microscope and porosity characteristics. Batch experimental mode was applied for adsorption and biosorption studies. A matrix effect analysis is applied to correlate the lindane adsorption or biosorption capacity to the agitation time, initial levels of lindane and carbon dose or biosorbent concentration. The Scanning Electron Microscope images equipped with Energy-dispersive X-ray reflect the enhancement of thermo-chemical activation by H3 PO4 in increasing the porosity of AC. Sorption behavior of Lindane by Activated Carbon (AC) and Phanerochaete chrysosporium, respectively have been studied to compare the obtained results in order to consider cost effective method for agriculture wastewater treatment. The adsorption capacity and distribution coefficients were determined for the adsorption system as a function of sorbate concentration. Under the studied concentrations, the adsorption of lindane by AC and its biosorption by Phanerochaete chrysosporium match to Langmuir as well as Freundlich isotherms. Afterword, adsorption and biosorption behavior was assessed by calculation of constants for each isothermal model. Finally, Biosorption of Lindane by Phanerochaete chrysosporium showed higher and faster removal compared with AC derived from rice straw.Utilizou-se palha de arroz para a preparação de carvão ativado por ativação química por impregnação com H3PO4 concentrado seguido de pirólise a 500 ºC por 2h. As propriedades físico-químicas foram investigadas por vários procedimentos; Análise elementar, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e características de porosidade. O modo experimental em lote foi aplicado para estudos de adsorção e biossorção. Uma análise de efeito de matriz é aplicada para correlacionar a capacidade de adsorção ou de biossorção de lindano com o tempo de agitação, os níveis iniciais de lindano e dose de carbono ou concentração de biossorvente. As imagens do microscópio eletrônico de varredura, equipadas com raios X de dispersão de energia, refletem o aumento da ativação termoquímica por H3PO4 no aumento da porosidade de AC. O comportamento de sorção do Lindano por Carvão Ativado (AC) e Phanerochaete chrysosporium, respectivamente, tem sido estudado para comparar os resultados obtidos, a fim de considerar o método de custo efetivo para o tratamento de águas residuais da agricultura. A capacidade de adsorção e os coeficientes de distribuição foram determinados para o sistema de adsorção em função da concentração de sorbato. Sob as concentrações estudadas, a adsorção de lindano por AC e sua biossorção por Phanerochaete chrysosporium combinam-se a Langmuir assim como isotermas de Freundlich. O comportamento de adsorção e biossorção foi avaliado por cálculo de constantes para cada modelo isotérmico. Finalmente, a Biossorção de Lindano por Phanerochaete chrysosporium mostrou maior e mais rápida remoção comparada com AC derivada de palha de arroz

Basin Analysis of the Late Cretaceous Sediments in United Arab Emirates

Abstract: The Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation has been proved to be one of the most prolific reservoirs in the Arabian Basin, but still needs more investigations to be ultimately exploited.This promising formation has been subjected to a comprehensive study by various geologic disciplines to build up an adequate basin model for such formation. The study revealed that the Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation could be classified into two facies. These are Planktonic Foraminiferal Biomicrite (open marine source rock facies outcropped at Jabal Qarn El-Barr); and Rudistids Algal Foraminiferal Biomicrite (shallow marine reservoir rock facies exposed at Jabal Buhays and Jabal Malaqet) facies. This facies distribution indicates that the Late Cretaceous sea deepened towards the NNW of UAE ( Jabal Qarn El-Barr section). X-Ray diffraction analysis ensured the occurrence of open marine minerals (kaolinite and montmorillonite) within the Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation that outcropped at Jabal Qarn El-Barr. So, the Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation could act as an effective source rock (newly approved) in the northern part of UAE and a prolific reservoir rock in the other parts of UAE. The geochemical analyses also supported the occurrence of source rock facies (high TOC varies from 0.4 to 1.3 wt% and low Pr/Ph ratio) within the Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation. The petrophysical and petrographical investigations proved intercrystalline, vuggy and fracture porosity (varies from 0 to 31%) and permeability ranges from 0 to 850 md for the reservoir facies of Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation. Moreover, the occurrence of anticlinal and thrusted structures (almost acting as sealing faults) within the fractured limestones of the Late Cretaceous Simsima Formation would enhance the probability for hydrocarbon entrapment within these rocks