NAKED EYE ESTIMATES OF MORNING PRAYER AT TUBRUQ OF LIBYA

Naked eye observations at Tubruq sky (φ = 32° 05´, λ = 23° 59´) in Libya at the Mediterranean coast (see-desert background) during the two years (2008 – 2009) of morning twilight have been recorded.  These observations led us to get some estimates about morning twilight, as it is necessary to determine the time of the True Dawn (Al-Fajr Prayer Time).  this research aims to determine the correct time of Al-Fajr Prayer by finding the accurate angle of the sun vertical depression below the horizon that is associated with legitimate mark. The Methode used in this research was field research while the observations have been recorded by monitoring the first white thread on the eastern horizon (True Dawn) that announces the time of the Morning Prayer (Al-Fajr Prayer).  The azimuthally range of observation about the solar vertical extends from 0° up to ±20°, while the phenomenon was followed from 0° up to 20° along the altitudinal range.  This research gives a result that a beginning of the morning twilight is estimated to be around 13.5° depression of the sun below the horizon.  This value can reach a minimum depression around 11.5° at low visibility and a maximum around 13.5° at a very god visibility

NAKED EYE ESTIMATES OF MORNING PRAYER AT TUBRUQ OF LIBYA

Naked eye observations at Tubruq sky (φ = 32° 05´, λ = 23° 59´) in Libya at the Mediterranean coast (see-desert background) during the two years (2008 – 2009) of morning twilight have been recorded.  These observations led us to get some estimates about morning twilight, as it is necessary to determine the time of the True Dawn (Al-Fajr Prayer Time).  this research aims to determine the correct time of Al-Fajr Prayer by finding the accurate angle of the sun vertical depression below the horizon that is associated with legitimate mark. The Methode used in this research was field research while the observations have been recorded by monitoring the first white thread on the eastern horizon (True Dawn) that announces the time of the Morning Prayer (Al-Fajr Prayer).  The azimuthally range of observation about the solar vertical extends from 0° up to ±20°, while the phenomenon was followed from 0° up to 20° along the altitudinal range.  This research gives a result that a beginning of the morning twilight is estimated to be around 13.5° depression of the sun below the horizon.  This value can reach a minimum depression around 11.5° at low visibility and a maximum around 13.5° at a very god visibility

Diacritical Seismic Signatures for Complex Geological Structures: Case Studies from Shushan Basin (Egypt) and Arkoma Basin (USA)

Seismic reflection techniques show an imperative role in imaging complex geological structures and are becoming more acceptable as data interpreting tools in 2D/3D view. These subsurface geological structures provide complex seismic signature due to their geometrical behavior. Consequently, it is extremely difficult to interpret these seismic sections in terms of subsurface configuration. The main goal of this paper is to introduce seismic attributes as a powerful tool to interpret complex geological structures in different geological settings. In order to image these complex geological features, multiple seismic attributes such as coherence and curvature have been applied to the seismic data generated over the Shushan Basin (Egypt) and Arkoma Basin (USA). Each type of geological structure event usually generates a unique seismic “signature” that we can recognize and identify by using these seismic attributes. In Shushan Basin (Egypt), they provide a framework and constraint during the interpretation and can help prevent mistakes during a 3D structural modeling. In Arkoma Basin (USA), the seismic attributes results provide useful information for broader analyses of the complex structural relations in the region where the Ouachita orogenic belt intersects with the southern Oklahoma aulacogen. Finally, complex geological structures provide dramatically diacritical seismic signatures that can be easily interpreted by collaborating conventional seismic interpretation techniques with multiple seismic attributes

Divorce Etiquette in the Holy Quran

This study dealt with a social issue, namely (the etiquette of divorce in the Noble Qur’an). The observer in our contemporary conditions finds the ignorance of many people in divorce, its rulings, and its etiquette, and it is an important problem whose social effects have exacerbated, and the disputes transcend the spouses, to include the effects of animosity between the family and the clan. Studying in order to draw from the help of our immortal Lord will not be a guiding light for us, leading us to coexistence in goodness, so that one knows what he has and what duties he owes, and he performs them as he commanded, and there is no way for us to rise except by following this pure source. This study dealt with divorce linguistically and idiomatically, and its types and provisions in the first requirement, and as for the second requirement, it has dealt with (the etiquette of divorce) exclusively in the Holy Qur’an and this is what distinguishes it from what I reckon with monitoring of what was mentioned by some commentators, especially the modern ones among them of etiquette and its cults, with the protest According to the honorable Sunnah of the Prophet, what was needed, in order to complete the picture of those manners

Conversion of Uric Acid into Ammonium in Oil-Degrading Marine Microbial Communities: a Possible Role of Halomonads

Uric acid is a promising hydrophobic nitrogen source for biostimulation of microbial activities in oil-impacted marine environments. This study investigated metabolic processes and microbial community changes in a series of microcosms using sediment from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea amended with ammonium and uric acid. Respiration, emulsification, ammonium and protein concentration measurements suggested a rapid production of ammonium from uric acid accompanied by the development of microbial communities containing hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria after 3 weeks of incubation. About 80 % of uric acid was converted to ammonium within the first few days of the experiment. Microbial population dynamics were investigated by Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis and Illumina sequencing as well as by culture-based techniques. Resulting data indicated that strains related to Halomonas spp. converted uric acid into ammonium, which stimulated growth of microbial consortia dominated by Alcanivorax spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Several strains of Halomonas spp. were isolated on uric acid as the sole carbon source showed location specificity. These results point towards a possible role of halomonads in the conversion of uric acid to ammonium utilized by hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria.With exception of XH and JC, all authors were supported by the FP7 Project ULIXES (FP7-KBBE-2010-266473). This work was further funded by grant BIO2011-25012 from the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness. FM was supported by Università degli Studi di Milano, European Social Fund (FSE) and Regione Lombardia (contract BDote Ricerca^). DD acknowledges support of KAUST, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. PG acknowledges the support of the European Commission through the project Kill-Spill (FP7, Contract Nr 312139).Peer Reviewe

The Palestinian Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna Preserved at the Biology Exhibitions of the Universities of the Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip (365 km2 ) of Palestine (27,000 km2 ) is home to a wealth of terrestrial vertebrate fauna. Some of these faunistic species find their ways to preservation at the local universities. Hence, the current study comes to document the Palestinian terrestrial vertebrate fauna acquired by the biology exhibitions (BEs) of Al-Azhar University, Islamic University of Gaza and Al-Aqsa University that are located at the Gaza City of the Gaza Strip. The amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals preserved at BEs of the universities in question were surveyed and scientifically classified during a three-month period extending from January to March, 2012. The study showed that all BEs of local universities are underdeveloped, lacking attention and suffer from specimen scarcity and good preservation. The BE at Al-Azhar University is the best in the arrangement and preservation of bird specimens. A total number of 200 specimens belonging to 54 terrestrial vertebrate fauna species, 39 families and 17 orders was recorded at BEs. Reptiles constituted 40.7% of the total species recorded, followed by birds (38.9%), mammals (14.8%) and amphibians (5.6%). The Islamic University of Gaza was considered the best in terms of the number of preserved species (39.8%), followed by Al-Azhar University (36.3%) and Al-Aqsa University (23.9%). The Common Toad (Bufo viridis) was the most preserved among the amphibian species recorded. Squamata was the biggest reptilian order, comprising 20 species (8 lizards and 12 snakes), with the Syrian Black Snake (Coluber jugularis asianus) was the commonest. The Palestine Viper (Vipera palaestinae) is endemic to Palestine and most venomous and dangerous to human health. The Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) was the largest Palestinian bird preserved at BE of Al-Azhar University. The Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) and the Common Badger (Meles meles) were the biggest mammalian specimens preserved, while the Palestine Mole-rat (Spalax leucodon ehrenbergi) was the only Palestine endemic species encountered among the preserved mammals. Finally, the improvement of BEs of local universities and the construction of a Central Museum of Natural History is highly recommended in order to change the Palestinians’ attitudes toward a sustainable ecological conservation in the Gaza Strip

Effects of nonantibiotic feed additives on performance, nutrient retention, gut pH, and intestinal morphology of broilers fed different levels of energy.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different feed additives on performance, nutrient retention, gut pH, and intestinal morphology of broilers fed different levels of energy. This study was a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement of 4 feed additive programs (a basal diet without any feed additive as the control, the basal diet with added organic acid, the basal diet with added prebiotic, and the basal diet with added probiotic) with recommended levels (3,150 and 3,200 kcal of ME/kg of diet for the starter and finisher diets, respectively) or low levels (90% of recommended) of energy. A total of 640 one-day-old male and female broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 8 treatments. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicate floor pens of 20 birds each. Starter and finisher diets were fed from 1 to 21 d and 21 to 42 d of age, respectively. Dietary levels of other nutrients, housing, and general management practices were similar for all treatments. Dietary inclusion of additives had no significant effects on broiler performance, intestinal villus height, crypt depth, gut pH, and dietary AME. Birds fed the low-energy diets were heavier but had inferior FCR compared with those fed the recommended-energy diets. Prebiotic and organic acid significantly (P < 0.05) improved protein digestibility. The recommended-energy diets significantly (P < 0.05) increased AME and protein digestibility. No interactions were observed for the measured parameters

Production of Superoxide Anions by Keratinocytes Initiates P. acnes-Induced Inflammation of the Skin

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the sebaceous follicles. Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), a gram-positive anareobic bacterium, plays a critical role in the development of these inflammatory lesions. This study aimed at determining whether reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by keratinocytes upon P. acnes infection, dissecting the mechanism of this production, and investigating how this phenomenon integrates in the general inflammatory response induced by P. acnes. In our hands, ROS, and especially superoxide anions (O2•−), were rapidly produced by keratinocytes upon stimulation by P. acnes surface proteins. In P. acnes-stimulated keratinocytes, O2•− was produced by NAD(P)H oxidase through activation of the scavenger receptor CD36. O2•− was dismuted by superoxide dismutase to form hydrogen peroxide which was further detoxified into water by the GSH/GPx system. In addition, P. acnes-induced O2•− abrogated P. acnes growth and was involved in keratinocyte lysis through the combination of O2•− with nitric oxide to form peroxynitrites. Finally, retinoic acid derivates, the most efficient anti-acneic drugs, prevent O2•− production, IL-8 release and keratinocyte apoptosis, suggesting the relevance of this pathway in humans

Prediction of progression in pTa and pT1 bladder carcinomas with p53, p16 and pRb

Currently available prognostic tools appear unable to adequately predict recurrence and progression in non muscle-invasive bladder carcinomas. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of immunohistochemical evaluation of the cell cycle markers p53, p16 and pRb. Paraffin blocks were obtained from 78 cases of pTa and pT1 transitional cell carcinomas, for which long-term follow-up was available. Representative sections were stained using antibodies against p53, p16 and pRb. Altered marker expression was found in 45, 17 and 30% of cases, respectively. Concurrent alteration of two or three markers occurred in 19% of cases, and was significantly associated with grade and stage. In univariate survival analysis, the concurrent alteration of any two markers was significantly associated with progression. The greatest risk was produced by alteration of both p53 and p16, which increased the risk of progression by 14.45 times (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.10-67.35). After adjusting for grade and stage, this risk was 7.73 (CI 1.13-52.70). The markers did not generally predict tumour recurrence, except in the 25 pT1 tumours. In these, p16 alteration was associated with a univariate risk of 2.83 (CI 1.01-7.91), and concurrent p53 and p16 alteration with a risk of 9.29 (CI 1.24-69.50). Overall, we conclude that the immunohistochemical evaluation of p53 and p16 may have independent prognostic value for disease progression, and may help guide management decisions in these tumours