The Role of Microalgae in Renewable Energy Production: Challenges and Opportunities

Microalgae are one of the most effective sources of renewable energy production. It can grow at high rates and capable of producing oil along the year. Microalgae biomass was first suggested as a feedstock for biofuel production and received early attention for commercial application. Microalgae are expected to be a vital raw material for amino acids, vitamins and productions of valuable byproducts. The cultivation of microalgae is known to be the most gainful business in the biotechnological industry. It is a waste less, environmentally pure, energy and resource saving route. Biodiesel production from algal lipid is non-toxic and highly biodegradable. Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be achieved by different methods which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical and biochemical methods, in addition to the large number of different agents for decomposing and hydrolysing. We can obtain the low-cost energy production from the wastewater treatment by using microalgae. Finally, biodiesel production by microalgae in Egypt is not practical at the economical level. In order to improve biodiesel fuel quality, the alga must be subjected to genetic engineering for up-regulation of fatty acid biosynthesis and/or by down-regulation of β-oxidation. Economically, the algal biomass must be processed for bio-refinery to maximize its utilization for different applications

Level of Psychological Flow and its Relationship with Psychological Flexibility Among Mu'tah University Students in Al-Karak Governorate/ South Jordan

The current research aimed to identify the level of psychological flow and its relationship with psychological flexibility among Mu'tah university students in Al-Karak governorate south Jordan. To achieve the goals of the study, a sample of 830 participants from bachelor level students in Mu'tah university was selected (388 male students and 442 female students). The study was applied during the second semester (2014/2015). The psychological flow scale was translated into Arabic in addition to developing the scale of psychological flexibility for the purposes of this research. Results revealed that the level of psychological flow and psychological flexibility came low among male students, medium among female students, and medium for the sample as whole. In addition, results indicated a correlation between psychological flow and psychological flexibility and that psychological flow doesn’t differ based on gender but is better among student with high achievers and among third year students. Based on the results, the research concluded with a group of recommendations among which increasing the psychological flow level among university male students and including students in various creative activities so as to increase flexibility

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF MELATONIN AGAINST IRON OVERLOAD-INDUCED TOXICITY IN RATS

Objective: Iron overload is a serious, potentially fatal disorder characterized by the deposition of excess iron within tissues leading to functional impairment and reduced life expectancy. The present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of melatonin in protecting rats against iron overload-induced toxicity.Methods: Twenty-four adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups: the control, iron overload group, melatonin group and iron overload+melatonin group. Rats received ferric hydroxide poly maltose at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight (three doses per week) for four weeks through intra peritoneal injections and received the melatonin subcutaneously (10 mg/kg/day) for four weeks.Results: In iron overloaded rats, the iron status markers: serum, hepatic and renal tissues iron, Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), transferrin and transferrin saturation percentage (TS %) were significantly increased, while a marked decrease in Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity (UIBC) was demonstrated. The oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly increased while a marked decrease in the catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities as well as in reduced glutathione (GSH) content accompanied with increased levels of metallothionein (MT) in hepatic and renal tissues were demonstrated. In addition, the liver and kidney functions were disturbed. Co-treatment with melatonin, significantly improved iron overload-induced alterations as indicated by the attenuation of the iron status disturbances, the reduction of the indices of liver and kidney functions and lipid peroxidation product and elevation of antioxidants and MT.Conclusion: The study showed the potential effect of melatonin against iron overload–induced toxicity through its chelating effect on iron, elevation of MT and improvement of antioxidant status.Â

Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Performance: Study in Sudan National Oil Company (SNOC)

This study investigates the impact of HRM practices on organizational performance which include practices such as "human resource planning, staffing processes, training and development, reward and compensation systems, employee and labor relations", and are treated as independent variables. The study is concentrating on study on Sudan National Oil Company (SNOC). Total responses are 100 from 153 population of Sudan National Oil Company (SNOC) are collected and analyzed objectively; it was examined if HRM practices have significant association on organizational performance. The aim is to get real picture on the influence of HRM practices on organizational performance. The finding indicates that, there is positive relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance. This study is important for several reasons. Firstly, recognizing a positive relationship between, HRM and organizational performance; secondly, to clarify the problem and barriers encountered in the application of human resource programs in the Sudanese companies in the context to the case included in this study thirdly, to participate in and contribute to research, resulting in Knowledge increase, and lastly, to assist scholars and other researchers in the HRM field

Enhancing the Performance of Educational Systems using Efficient Opinion Mining Techniques

Governments and educational authorities around the world are emphasizing performance evaluation of educational systems. Opinion Mining (OM) has gained acceptance among experts in various regions, including the preparation space. The proposed model involves Two modules: the data preprocessing module and the opinion mining module. The main objective of our article is to enhance educational systems through the analysis of student comments, teacher comments and course comments. Furthermore, the proposed model uses a bundling task to make groups of packs for students from its comments. The datasets were 10,000 instances, 80% of which were for training and 20% for testing. The results showed that K-Means Algorithm had the best accuracy time /Sec of 0.03. The correctly classified 8,000 instances were equal to 96%, and incorrectly classified 2,000 instances were equal to 4%, Accuracy of the model is 95%, Recall is 94.8% and F-Measure is 93.7% between others algorithms. clustering and Association Rule Mining phases Algorithms namely Chi-Square test is good quality than Others Algorithms

Assessment of Thyroid Function in Pregnant Women From Rimal Health Center, Gaza City

Background. Pregnancy is associated with significant but reversible changes in thyroid function tests results, which are as a result of a normal physiologic state. Pregnancy influences thyroid function and may bring to light mild and latent disorders. This study focused on thyroid hormones as the human fetal thyroid does not secrete thyroid hormones until approximately 12 weeks of gestation, the fetus is dependent until that time on a supply from the maternal circulation. Thyroid dysfunction has been related to obstetrical complications such as premature delivery, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and placental abruption. Objective: to assess the maternal thyroid function in the first trimester of pregnant women from Rimal health center-Gaza city. Materials and methods. A cross sectional study was designed with 90 normal pregnant women who were randomly selected from the first trimesters attending Rimal Health Center and 80 randomly selected non-pregnant healthy female controls. Age range in both groups was 18-40 years. Thyroid function tests were carried out by measuring serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxin (FT4), and free triiodothyronine (FT3). They were measured using Microparticles Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA). SPSS was used to analyse obtained data. Results: The results showed that there was a significant increased between the non pregnant women group and pregnant women for FT4 and FT3 where the p-value is 0.04 and 0.030 respectively. the mean TSH levels of pregnant women was lower than the mean level of non pregnant but did not show significant difference in first trimester compared with non-pregnant women. Also there was a significant statistical difference between the groups of different age for FT4 and FT3 where the p- value was 0.034 and 0.038 among the non pregnant women group. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant relationship between thyroid function in pregnancy and family history of thyroid problems, genetic disease, and hypertension among women in the study sample

Can the modified Tan–Bianchi circumumbilical approach be used for treating older children?

Background and aim Since Tan and Bianchi reported umbilical incision as an access for pyloromyotomy in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, many pediatric surgeons have used this approach for a number of other procedures. Most of these studies focused on the usefulness of such an approach in neonates. This study aims at assessing the usefulness of the circumumbilical approach for exploring the abdominal cavity of infants and older children for treating a variety of surgical intra-abdominal diseases to achieve minimally invasive surgery with excellent cosmetic results.Patients and methods All patients who underwent a circumumbilical skin incision for an exploratory laparotomy during the period June 2009 to October 2010 were reviewed. Age, operative procedure, conversions to standard laparotomy, complications, and follow-up data were recorded.Results A total of 27 infants and children with ages ranging from 3 months to 8 years underwent circumumbilical incision for abdominal exploration. The indications were as follows: nonrotational malrotation of the midgut (n= 2), intussusception (n= 13), complicated V–P shunts (n = 4), acute abdomen that proved to be due to Meckel’s diverticulitis (n= 2), gastrotomy for removal of an impacted foreign body from the stomach (n= 1), pyloroplasty for caustic injury of the pylorus (n =1), lymphatic mesenteric cyst (n =1), and complicated appendicitis (n= 3). Conversion to a standard midline incision was necessary in one case. The complications encountered included wound infection (n =5), burst abdomen (n= 1), and incisional hernia (n= 2). Subsequent follow-up revealed that all incisions had healed and the scars were almost imperceptible as affirmed by parental satisfaction during outpatient clinic consultation.Conclusion The circumumbilical approach appears to be safe, flexible, and easily reproducible, providing adequate exposure for some abdominal surgeries even in older infants and children as it has been tried successfully in neonates. The low-complication rate and pleasing aesthetic outcome are well-appreciated by parents and operators alike.Keywords: children, circumumbilical approach, laparotom

Synthesis and studies of pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-4-one derivatives

A series of isolated/fused of pyrazole, isoxazolo, pyrimidine, pyrimidine thione, spiro thiazolodine and spiro β-lactam derivatives incorporating to 4-acetyl-5-imino-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazoline have been synthesized by different methods. The structure of chemical reactions based on chemical and spectroscopic evidence. The detailed synthesis and spectroscopic data were reported

Estimation of general and specific combining abilities from a diallel cross of three inbred lines of Fayoumi chicks

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Antibacterial activity of some wild medicinal plants collected from western Mediterranean coast, Egypt: Natural alternatives for infectious disease treatment

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide. Obtaining scientific information about the efficacy and safety of the wild plants grown in western Mediterranean coast of Egypt is one of our research goals. In this study, 10 wild plants namely Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Blackiella aellen, Arthrocnemon glaucum, Atriplex halimus, Thymelaea hirsute, Carduus getulus, Nicotiana glauca, Alhagi maurorum, Atractylis carduus and Echinops spinosissimus were collected from El-Hammam, Burg El Arab and Bahig regions located along the Western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Hexane and methanol extracts of fresh aerial parts of the plants were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against 15 Gram positive and negative pathogenic bacteria. Both methanol and hexane plant extracts showed strong antibacterial activity against at least two pathogenic microorganisms tested. However, hexane extracts generally showed lower activity against microorganisms compared to methanol extracts. The microorganisms’ susceptibility to different extracts did not correlate with the susceptibility or resistance to a particular antibiotic. The results of this study thus support the medical usage of the studied plants and suggest that some of these plants possess antimicrobial properties that can be used to cure infectious diseases.Key words: Egyptian wild plants, antagonism, biological control, phytochemicals, multi-drug resistant