Using Geographic Information Systems (gis) In Spatial Analysis Of Mortuary Practices In The Kellis 2 Cemetery, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

This thesis focuses on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to examine mortuary practices in the Romano-Byzantine period Kellis 2 cemetery located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The first research objective examines the relationship between age, sex and grave substructures of 701 burials in Kellis 2 cemetery. The aim of this research objective was to determine if the presence and style of grave substructures were influenced by sex or age. Although not statistically significant, GIS analysis revealed that most of the graves in the Kellis 2 cemetery have no associated substructures, but of those that did have associated substructures, adult male burials were more likely to have a substructure than adult females or juveniles. Moreover, males and females aged from 22 to 50 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than younger and older individuals. In the juvenile age categories, newborns and children aged 1 to 5 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than the other juvenile age categories. This may be related to the second research objective which focused on the spatial relationship between infant and adult burials in the Kellis 2 cemetery. The second objective was to determine if infants were more likely to be buried between two adults, perhaps representing family units. GIS and statistical analysis revealed that the infants in the Kellis 2 cemetery were more likely to be buried closer to each other or to adult females than to adult males. Of those 25 infants buried between two adults most of them were either buried between two adult females, or between an adult male and female. Only three infants were found buried between two males. Interestingly, many of the adult females buried in close proximity with an iv infant were of child-bearing age. GIS was a very useful tool for examining questions of mortuary practices, particularly in examining spatial relationships between variables recorded for the Kellis 2 cemetery

Bioinformatic tools and guideline for PCR primer design

Bioinformatics has become an essential tool not only for basic research but also for applied research in biotechnology and biomedical sciences. Optimal primer sequence and appropriate primer concentration are essential for maximal specificity and efficiency of PCR. A poorly designed primer can result in little or no product due to non-specific amplification and/or primer-dimer formation, which can become competitive enough to suppress product formation. There are several online tools devoted to serving molecular biologist design effective PCR primers. This review intends to provide a guide to choosing the most efficient way to design a new specific-primer by applying current publicly available links and Web services. Also, the purpose here is to provide general recommendations for the design and use of PCR primers. (African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(5): 91-95

Web-based bioinformatic resources for protein and nucleic acids sequence alignment

DNA sequencing is the deciphering of hereditary information. It is an indispensable prerequisite for many biotechnical applications and technologies and the continual acquisition of genomic information is very important. This opens the door not only for further research and better understanding of the architectural plan of life, but also for future clinical diagnosis based on the genetic data of individuals. Bioinformatics can be broadly defined as the creation and development of advanced information and computational techniques for problems in biology. More narrowly, bioinformatics is the set of computing techniques used to manage and extract useful information from the DNA/RNA/protein sequence data being generated (at high volumes) by automated techniques (e.g., DNA sequencers, DNA microarrays) and stored in large public databases (e.g., GenBank, Protein DataBank). Certain method for analyzing genetic/protein data has been found to be extremely computationally intensive, providing motivation for the use of powerful computers. The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has substantially increased the availability of information and computational resources available to experimental biologists. This review will describe the current on-line resources available, including protein and nucleic acids sequence alignment. Key words: Sequence alignment, DNA, Protein, ClustalW, FASTA. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 714-718, December 200

Transcriptional response to stressors in arabidopsis thaliana

Stress is defined as any external force that can trigger a defensive response from an organism. In plants, stress is something that has been shown to affect plant reproduction and productivity by activating a defensive response. It can be caused by various things including but not limited to biotic or abiotic conditions such as temperature, drought or salt stress. Exposure to stress leads to the production of various transcriptomes that are governed by signals released as a result of the exposed stress. Arabidopsis thaliana is characterized by its inability to tolerate any form of extreme stress and given its status as a model organism it is an ideal candidate to investigate the various effects of stress on plants. By studying the transcriptomes produced by Arabidopsis thaliana under different stress conditions, a more well-rounded profile of how plant systems react to different stress conditions is produced. Experiments were carried out in KAUST by exposing the stress intolerant plant to Pladienolide B; a drug that is known to affect the slicing mechanism, RNA sequencing was used in order to produce the transcriptome profile of the plant in response to the stress over a series of time points. The classic tuxedo protocol for RNA sequencing analysis was used to assemble the transcripts and following differential gene expression analysis by CuffDiff, the R package CummeRbund was used to visualize the results. Functional analysis of the significant differentially expressed genes was carried out using PANTHER. PANTHER was able to classify 12,646 genes; expressed at after exposure to the treatment for 6 hours, and 10,649 genes; expressed after exposure to the treatment for 24 hours, into functional classes. With around 50% of the differentially expressed gene having catalytic activity and around 25% having binding activity. Further investigation revealed that the alternatively spliced differentially expressed genes were heavily involved in various development and regulatory process that are essential for plant maturation. While a few functionally uncharacterized genes were expressed, some of which may hold valuable information in understanding plant stress response. This research offers a deeper understanding of how plants are effected by stress through the characterization of the differentially expressed genes. Future investigation of the uncharacterized genes expressed is needed as it may provide deeper insights to the plant stress response

The introduction and application of international accounting standards to accounting disclosure regulations of a capital market in a developing country: the case of Egypt

The purpose of this study is to perform a rigorous testing and analysis of accounting disclosure practices in a developing country which has adopted the International Accounting Standards (IASs) and has changed towards an economic policy of privatisation after many years of a socialist era. The study also measures the effects on disclosure levels of changes in the economic policy and the new regulations. Furthermore, it investigates the relationship between disclosure levels and company characteristics. A review of the theories which have been used in previous research as a basis for explaining disclosure practices is used to establish a priori expectations. The Egyptian economic and social environment and the Egyptian accounting regulations and standards are outlined. From the theory, previous research and the particular circumstances of Egypt, specific empirical research questions are generated and then transformed into hypotheses. A mandatory disclosure list is created which combines the disclosure requirements of the IASs and national regulations using a technique of segmentation which takes into consideration four factors: a) whether the IASs disclosure item is also required both by local established regulations (Companies Act; CA) and by local new regulations (CML); b) whether the IASs disclosure item is required only by local new regulations; c) whether the IASs disclosure item is available in the native language; and d) in which part of the annual report is the disclosure item located. This technique of segmentation leads to different combinations of disclosure total indices (IASs, CML, CA), partial indices (Partial CML Arabic and Partial IASs not Arabic) and nine sub-indices. This allows detailed statistical analysis and richer interpretation of results. Matched pairs of the annual reports of a sample of Egyptian listed companies in 1991 and 1995 are compared using the aforementioned segmentation of total, partial and sub-indices. Also, a larger sample of 1995 annual reports is analysed to compare the different indices and to investigate any relationship between the indices and selected company characteristics using both univariate and multivariate analysis. The study concludes that accounting disclosure by Egyptian listed companies was significantly greater in 1995 than in 1991. Public sector companies which were the largest in size and actively traded in the Stock Exchange provided the highest CML disclosure. Companies audited by one of the `big-six' offered the highest IASs disclosure. Specific explanations for the increase in various accounting disclosure items and the relationship between various disclosure practices and specific company characteristics are offered based on the segmentation. Theoretical models of agency and capital needs appear to be applicable to the findings regarding Egypt, but the applicability of signalling theory is not clear. Other issues relating to theory are explored in the context of the research findings. Several conclusions are drawn and some policy implications are discussed

An efficient method for DNA extraction from Cladosporioid fungi

We developed an efficient method for DNA extraction from Cladosporioid fungi, which are important fungal plant pathogens. The cell wall of Cladosporioid fungi is often melanized, which makes it difficult to extract DNA from their cells. In order to overcome this we grew these fungi for three days on agar plates and extracted DNA from mycelium mats after manual or electric homogenization. High-quality DNA was isolated, with an A260/A280 ratio ranging between 1.6 and 2.0. Isolated genomic DNA was efficiently digested with restriction enzymes and produced distinct banding patterns on agarose gels for the different Cladosporium species. Clear DNA fragments from the isolated DNA were amplified by PCR using small and large subunit rDNA primers, demonstrating that this method provides DNA of sufficiently high quality for molecular analyse

THE RHYTON VESSEL OF PERSIAN AND GREEK ORIGINS IN THE LIGHT OF PETOSIRIS TOMB IN TUNA EL-GEBEL (COMPARATIVE AND ANALYTICAL STUDY)

أواني الريتون ما بين الفارسي واليوناني من خلال مقبرة بيتوزيريس بتونا الجبل دراسة تحليلية مقارنة [AR] يعد إناء الريتون من الأواني الهامة التي اسُتخدمت في الاحتفالات والطقوس الدينية كأواني لشرب الماء أو الخمر. ويرجع ظهورها إلي الربع الأخير من القرن الرابع قبل الميلاد في بلاد اليونان حيث يذكر المؤرخ هيرودوت أن اليونانيين عثروا عقب الحروب الفارسية علي كثير من مقتنيات المعسكر الفارسي والتي كانت من بينها أواني الريتون. وتنقسم أواني الريتون من حيث الشكل إلي ثلاثة أنواع: يتمثل النوع الأول في إناء الريتون المنحني ويكون فيه الإناء ذو قاعدة تُمثل الجزء السفلي من الإناء يعلوها رأس الحيوان التي تُمثل الجزء الأكبر من حجم الإناء أما الجزء العلوي، فيُمثل فوهة الإناء، بينما النوع الثاني هو إناء الريتون ذو قرن الحيوان "البوق" حيث يتخذ الإناء الشكل المخروطي. ويتكون من جزئيين الجزء العلوي يتمثل في فوهة وبدن الإناء، والجزء السفلي يتمثل في قرني ورأس الحيوان، أما النوع الثالث فيتمثل في إناء الريتون بهيئة رأس حيوان. وفي هذا النوع يتمثل الإناء في شكل قطعة واحدة فقط تتمثل في رأس الحيوان. و تناولت الدراسة وصف وتحليل مناظر تصوير إناء الريتون بمقبرة بيتوزيريس بتونا الجبل، متبعًا المنهج الوصفي والمقارن والتحليلي. خاتمًا الدراسة بالنتائج التي تضمنتها والتي كانت من بينها أمر ترجيح تأريخ مقبرة بيتوزيريس بناءً علي تصوير هذه الأواني بها إلي الفترة ما بين (517-460 ق.م)، أي من نهاية العصر الصاوي وحتي بداية العصر الفارسي الأول (العصر الأخميني). [EN] The Rhyton vessel is a drinking vessel used for ceremonial purposes. The significant Rhyton vessel is depicted on Petosiris’ tomb at Tuna El Jebel. This type of vessel became popular in Greece since the last quarter of the fourth century BC, after the Persian wars. Most of it was made of pottery rather than metal. According to the historian Herodotus, the Greeks captured many of the Persian camp's possessions after their victories, including the Rhyton vessels, a pottery vessel that had not before been used in Greece. Therefore, Persia could be where it first appeared. The Rhyton vessel comes in three different shapes; The first form is the curved Rhyton: This form of Rhyton vessel has a base that represents the lower part of the pot, ends in the forepart by an animal’s head, which represents the largest part of the pot, and an upper part represents its top. The second form is the horned Rhyton; This form of Rhyton vessels takes a conical shape, consisting of two parts. The upper part represents the mouth and body of the pot, while the horns and head of the animal represent the lower part since it resembles the trumpet instrument used in the horn. It was sometimes referred to as the «trumpet» instead of just the animal's horn. The Third Form is the Rhyton which is in the form of an animal head. Moreover, the third form is the Rhyton in the form of an animal head. This Rhyton vessel only consists of one piece represented by the animal's head. It was primarily used as a vessel for funeral rites and began to be produced during the first quarter of the fourth century AD. This paper describes and analyzes its depictions in the tomb of Petosiris in Tuna El Jebel. In order to complete the study, descriptive, comparative and analytic research methodologies are use

Parallel algorithms for restoration of degraded images using Gibbs field models.

In this thesis, restoration of noisy images using Markov Random Field (MRF) models for the clean images and the Maximum A Posteriori Probability (MAP) approach is considered. The degradation model is very general, in that it incorporates (a) additive and multiplicative random noise, (b) nonlinear distortion and (c) focus blur. Several algorithms are derived for restoration purposes, depending on the a priori information about the nature of degradations. These algorithms will allow for a very efficient implementation to obtain the restored images, also a general restoration algorithm has been developed for the case when the image has been corrupted by all the different components of the degradation. The algorithm was tested on a class of images representing: (1) Images ranging from binary (two levels) to continuous grey scale. (2) Degradation ranging from simple additive noise to the general degradation including additive/multiplicative noise, focus blur and nonlinear distortion. Test results indicate both the feasibility as well as the robustness of the algorithms. Finally, it is shown that the algorithms lend themselves to efficient hardware implementation, using SIMD/MIMD architecture as well as the more modern parallel architecture.Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1989 .E543. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: B, page: 1058. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1989