INTEGRATING NANOTECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS AND ITS APPLICATIONS INTO THE SECONDARY STAGE PHYSICS CURRICULUM IN EGYPT

Nanotechnology is very important in our society. Its concepts pertaining to study the unique characteristics of nano-scale material, which, in turn, helps in producing new materials that can be used in the fields of medicine, industry, engineering, agriculture, drugs, communications, defense, space, among others (Ban & Kocijancic, 2011). In response to the lack of these concepts in the Egyptian secondary school Physics curriculum, the current study aim at integrating some Nanotechnology concepts and applications in this curriculum and seek to answer this question: What “nanotechnology concepts and applications” should be teach in the secondary school Physics curriculum in Egypt. To do that, the researchers analyzed the content of Physics curricula in some countries and in the three grades of secondary education in Egypt for the school year 2014-2015, and prepared a list of 52 nanotechnology concepts, to be integrated in the secondary-stage Physics curriculum. These concepts were distributed along five basic units (the first unit included 20 concepts, the second unit 11 concepts, the third and fourth units 8 concepts each, and the fifth unit 5 concepts). On the other hand, twenty one concepts of nanotechnology were integrated into the second-grade secondary school Physics curriculum, distributed along three units (Units one and two included nine concepts whereas unit three included three concepts). Regarding the third grade secondary stage Physics curriculum, 17 nanotechnology concepts were integrated and distributed along three units (the first unit included 3 concepts, the second unit 7 concepts, and the third unit 8 concepts)

Towards the Implementation of Monetary Management in Islamic Economic System Based on Recent Developments

Monetary management is an essential part of the objectives of Shari’ah under the umbrella of the preservation of wealth (Ma’al). Our primary sources: Qur’an and Sunn’ah, provide divine legislation on the prohibition of Riba to manage bases of monetary transaction. Further, the juristic tools facilitate scholars to propose solutions to meet the emerging issues on diversified aspects of society. Muslim scholars have always adapted and contributed to the Islamic finance system and regulation, theoretically and practically. In recent decades, Islamic banking and finance has seen strong momentum with double digit growth, fulfilling the monetary requirement of depositors on the liability side along with industry on the asset side. We seek to review the theoretical and empirical literature on Islamic monetary mangement. Monetary management in the Islamic economic context is still an area that needs more research. This paper examines how literature has been developed over time up until modern Islamic economic and banking practices. The findings suggest that Islamic monetary management has been gradually developed in recent years and such development is remarkable steps forward in pursuing Islamic monetary policy independently. In addition, Islamic monetary policy is proved to be relatively more effective compared to interest based conventional monetary policy. The implications of such findings have established new milestones for the central banks of all the countries, including the muslim majority countries for pursuing interest free Islamic monetary policy with full confidence.  Furthermore, there are four major views on Islamic monetary policy and the central banks of the world should choose one of the best methods and views for the greater effectiveness of monetary policy because conventional monetary policy has been less effective in bringing full employment and price stability in recent years and financial crisis has crippled the interest based conventional economic systems quite badly

Highly sensitive and label-free digital detection of whole cell E. coli with interferometric reflectance imaging

Bacterial infectious diseases are a major threat to human health. Timely and sensitive pathogenic bacteria detection is crucial in identifying the bacterial contaminations and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Due to limitations of conventional bacteria detection techniques there have been concerted research efforts towards development of new biosensors. Biosensors offering label free, whole bacteria detection are highly desirable over those relying on label based or pathogenic molecular components detection. The major advantage is eliminating the additional time and cost required for labeling or extracting the desired bacterial components. Here, we demonstrate rapid, sensitive and label free E. coli detection utilizing interferometric reflectance imaging enhancement allowing for visualizing individual pathogens captured on the surface. Enabled by our ability to count individual bacteria on a large sensor surface, we demonstrate a limit of detection of 2.2 CFU/ml from a buffer solution with no sample preparation. To the best of our knowledge, this high level of sensitivity for whole E. coli detection is unprecedented in label free biosensing. The specificity of our biosensor is validated by comparing the response to target bacteria E. coli and non target bacteria S. aureus, K. pneumonia and P. aeruginosa. The biosensor performance in tap water also proves that its detection capability is unaffected by the sample complexity. Furthermore, our sensor platform provides high optical magnification imaging and thus validation of recorded detection events as the target bacteria based on morphological characterization. Therefore, our sensitive and label free detection method offers new perspectives for direct bacterial detection in real matrices and clinical samples.First author draf

Multicomponent reactions under increased pressure: on the reaction of arylhydrazonals, aromatic aldehydes and malononitrile in Q-Tube

A novel multi-component reaction between arylhydrazonals, malononitrile and aromatic aldehydes under high pressure utilizing Q-tube was carried out. The reaction of arylhydrazonal (1j) with malononitrile and aromatic aldehydes afforded the corresponding biphenyl derivatives (4). However, compound 1h reacted with malononitrile and aromatic aldehydes (7) to afford pyridazino[5,4,3-de]1,6-naphthyridine-7-carbonitrile derivatives (8). In contrast, the arylhydrazonal (1k) at the same reaction conditions afforded the corresponding pyridazinoquinazoline derivative (22). A rationalization for the difference in behavior for reaction of compounds 1h-k with malononitrile and aromatic aldehydes was postulated. Based on these findings a mechanism to account for the formation of the reaction products is suggested excluding possible initial dimerization of malononitrile as has been previously reported

Impact of ACGME-I Accreditation on Patient Outcomes at Hamad Medical Corporation: A Call for Evidence

It is globally acknowledged that becoming a physician today brings complexities not faced in the past. There is growing evidence for new techniques in patient care as well as advancing technology that brings forth procedures never possible before. Moreover, patients today possess access to more medical information and thus expect the highest of quality

Assessment of ultimate bearing capacity based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion

The ultimate bearing capacity is an essential requirement in design quantification for shallow foundations especially for structures built on large rock masses. In many engineering projects, structures built on foundation of heavily jointed rock masses may face issues such as instability and sudden catastrophic rock slope failure. Determination of the ultimate bearing capacity (Qult) of foundations resting on rock mass has traditionally been determined by employing several strength criterions. One of the accepted and widely implemented methods is to use the Hoek-Brown failure criterion 2002, where the required parameters are determined from a rock mass classification system, Geological Strength Index (GSI). This paper defines an assessment for ultimate bearing capacity (Qult) based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion 2002 for a granitic rock slope beneath a 20 m diameter concrete water tank at Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kajang, Selangor. Based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion 2002, the ultimate bearing capacity (Qult) of rock mass was 7.91 MPa. The actual stress acting on the rock mass was 0.32 MPa. The assessment showed that the rock mass is safe since the ultimate bearing capacity (Qult) is 24.7 times higher than the actual stress acting on the rock mass

Simultaneous analysis of frequency and voltage control of the interconnected hybrid power system in presence of FACTS devices and demand response scheme

This work confers the simultaneous analysis of voltage and frequency control of the 3-area interconnected hybrid power system (IHPS) consisting of parabolic-trough solar power system (PSP), wind power system (WPS) and dish-stirling solar power system (DSP) under the paradigm of microgrid. The speculated result of the IHPS is presented and analyzed considering real and reactive power as the function of both voltage and frequency. 9The proposed IHPS under investigation has been mathematically modeled for direct coupling like active power-frequency and reactive power-voltage relationships and cross coupling like active power-voltage and reactive power-frequency? relationships. The system responses under different operating conditions have been investigated to see the cross-coupling behavior of the proposed IHPS in the presence of voltage compensating devices like dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) and Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM). Further, Demand Response Scheme (DRS) as a frequency control strategy has been considered to enhance the system stability. System responses have been critically analyzed under Mine Blast Algorithm (MBA) based proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllersThis work was made possible by NPRP grant # [ 13S-0108-20008 ] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors".Scopu

Bridging the gap: Using design based activities to develop problem-solving skills in Qatari high school students

A substantial number of secondary school students are accepted into engineering schools without adequate exposure to key engineering based skills, such as analytical thinking, problem solving, critical thinking and design. Unfamiliarity with the practical skills needed in engineering leaves students unprepared, leading to poor academic performance and demotivating them about engineering. It is critical that students be able to apply learnt scientific concepts to solve real life problems. In this paper, we will present a set of design-based learning activities created to help develop the analytical thinking and problem solving skills of students in local Qatari secondary schools. We will discuss implementation details of these design-based learning activities along with results, comments from participating students and teachers as well as data analysis.qscienc

Mutations in SLC39A14 disrupt manganese homeostasis and cause childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia

Although manganese is an essential trace metal, little is known about its transport and homeostatic regulation. Here we have identified a cohort of patients with a novel autosomal recessive manganese transporter defect caused by mutations in SLC39A14. Excessive accumulation of manganese in these patients results in rapidly progressive childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia with distinctive brain magnetic resonance imaging appearances and neurodegenerative features on post-mortem examination. We show that mutations in SLC39A14 impair manganese transport in vitro and lead to manganese dyshomeostasis and altered locomotor activity in zebrafish with CRISPR-induced slc39a14 null mutations. Chelation with disodium calcium edetate lowers blood manganese levels in patients and can lead to striking clinical improvement. Our results demonstrate that SLC39A14 functions as a pivotal manganese transporter in vertebrates