Book review: Arab national media and political change: recording the transition by Fatima El-Issawi

In Arab National Media and Political Change: Recording the Transition, Fatima El-Issawi examines the role of traditional media, including television, radio and print, in the wake of political transitions in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. In contributing to understandings of the complex relations between journalistic practice and politics, the book deserves to be read and referenced by media and MENA scholars as well as anyone who has an interest in the changing shape of the media and democracy, recommends Aida Al-Kaisy

Iraqis do not know which media narratives to trust about COVID

Reuters’ licence to operate in Iraq was briefly suspended because it reported that COVID cases and deaths were higher than the government claimed. It has become increasingly difficult for Iraqis to check the truth of competing narratives about the pandemic, says Aida Al-Kaisy (LSE)

Model Calibration and Optimization of a Protein Purification Process

Four different chromatography models were calibrated to describe the separation of a ternary protein mixture consisting of lysozyme, cytochrome C and ribonuclease A in an ion-exchange chromatography column. The models are based on the same column model, the kinetic dispersive model. Protein adsorption was described by four different adsorption models, the Langmuir model with mobile phase modulators (MPM), the steric mass action (SMA) model, the self-association (SAS) model and the generalized Langmuir (GL) model. The models were calibrated against two kind of experiments, multi-component gradient experiments at low column load and single-component gradient experiments at high column load. The models were also validated against a multi-component validation experiment. All the models, especially the Langmuir MPM model, fit the experimental profiles at low column load very well. At high column load only the SAS model and GL model could capture the behavior of the experimental profiles, but even these two models did not fit the experimental profiles so well. The thesis was concluded with an optimization of the protein purification process. Three different objective functions were optimized, productivity, yield and normalized earnings. Optimization was performed with regard to two decision variables, the variables correspond to the amount of proteins loaded and the slope of the salt gradient, and one purity constraint. Maximum productivity was obtained at high column load and steep salt gradient. Maximum yield was obtained at low column load and flat salt gradient.In this thesis four different models were calibrated to describe the separation of a ternary protein mixture in an ion-exchange chromatography column. The thesis was concluded with an optimization of the separation process

Disinformation in Iraqi media

The rise of narratives of disinformation in the Iraqi public sphere is threatening to destabilise an already fragile political system. Discourse and narratives are being manipulated by powerful elites who are banking on declining trust in the government and official institutions to aid the spread of false information. Alternative voices and opinions, from activists to journalists and human rights defenders, are also being targeted through metanarratives which serve to discredit their actions and intentions. In the specific context of Iraq, where mainstream media lack the capacity and will for verification, these narratives – emerging on social media platforms – are now informing media content and debates. This paper examines the key narratives of disinformation that are prevalent in Iraqi media. It provides an analysis of the messages, agents, intentions and impact of the spread of disinformation. Focusing particularly on the period during which planned national elections were postponed, it identifies narratives of disinformation which emerged during that time. I argue that, due to the overriding partisan and unprofessional conditions for the media and the challenging political context of Iraq, the lines between partisan information and disinformation have become blurred

Empirical Examination of Passing Lane Operational Benefits on Rural Two-Lane Highways

This paper presents an empirical investigation into the operational benefits of passing lanes on rural two-lane highways. Two study sites in the state of Montana were used in this investigation. Performance was examined at a single location upstream and multiple locations downstream of the passing lane at each study site. Using percent followers as a performance measure, operational benefits right after the passing lane ranged between 33% and 42% at one study site and 12% to 19% at the other study site under prevalent traffic levels. Study results also suggest that operational benefits persist for a remarkable distance beyond the end of the passing lane

Pockets of media civicness in a conflictual political landscape: a case study of Iraqi media

This blog post introduces the LSE research project ‘Pockets of Media Civicness’ in a Conflictual Political Landscape: A Case Study of Iraqi Mediaby Aida Al-Kaisy, examining opportunities for enabling Iraqis to carve out spaces which can contribute to better journalism and, ultimately, better local and national governance

Quantitative Study of the Evaluation of the Activity of Immune Cells in the Spleen of Diseased Mice with Cancer by Soft Laser

Background: Little informations have been published about the active role of soft laser in stimulation the immune cells, so, our work was conducted to examine experimentally the capacity of the immune cells such as macrophages of the spleen in reducing the tumor size of diseased mice with mammary gland carcinoma by soft laser.Materials and Methods: Fourty healthy female Swiss albino mice aged two months (weighing 45-48g) were used in the present experimental work. They were divided into five groups of six mice each. All the animals inoculated with mammary gland carcinoma. After successful inoculation, the animals were anaesthetized and irradiated with laser for 25 minutes with different time intervals and for ten days. The tumor size was measured before and after irradiation by vernier, daily, starting from tumor appearance until the last day of the experiment (10days). Sections of spleen were prepared and examined for histopathological study by light microscope.Results: The present experimental work showed reduction in tumor size of diseased mice with carcinoma irradiated with laser with the increasing of time interval for each experimental group of mice when compared to the tumor size of diseased mice with carcinoma not irradiated with laser. The histological examinations of the sections of the spleen of the diseased mice with carcinoma irradiated with laser showed abundant histological alterations in the structure of the macrophages such as increased size and multiplication of the nucleus when compared to the macrophages of the spleen of the diseased mice with carcinoma not irradiated with laser.Conclusion: The present experimental work proved that soft laser played an important role in activation the immune cells such as macrophages of the spleen and then decreased the tumor size of diseased mice with carcinoma and caused marked histological alterations in the structure of the macrophage due to laser action. Keywords: Soft laser, Laser in medicine

A fragmented landscape: barriers to independent media in Iraq

The Iraqi media landscape has been characterised by partisan ownership, mainly based on political and religious affiliations. Comparative ethnographic research has revealed highly irregular practices and the struggles of Iraqi journalists to adhere to the norms of professionalism, suggesting that these practices are contributing to and fuelling the ongoing context of conflict and violence in Iraq. Within this challenging environment, there have been some attempts to develop media platforms that carve out spaces which can contribute to better journalism and, ultimately, better local and national governance. This report explores, in the context of this environment, the challenges that these platforms face. It examines a number of barriers to the development of independent media in Iraq, providing some recommendations as to how these obstacles might be tackled. Based on interviews with key media and political stakeholders in early 2019, it provides some insight into the complex interaction between political and social conditions, structure and agency in Iraq

Creation and validation of an in-vitro model of an edentulous mandibular ridge for testing mandibular complete denture retention.

The missing teeth of edentulous adults are most commonly replaced with complete upper and lower dentures. The most prevalent problem regarding complete dentures is the retention of the mandibular one. The testing of most denture retention systems has usually employed in-vivo testing with no prior in-vitro tests being carried out. In addition, in-vitro tests that have been carried out did not replicate the natural real situation of the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to design and develop an artificial edentulous mandibular jaw model, with the associated soft-tissue structure (artificial mucosa and reflected tissue) based on real patient parameters, to facilitate testing the retention of mandibular complete dentures. This would enable us to optimise the design and manufacture of novel systems prior to testing on real patients in a clinical trial. The objectives for this study were to firstly conduct a clinical evaluation of patients’ satisfaction with complete denture and to correlate the effect of loose mandibular denture with patient satisfaction. The second objective was to evaluate and identify the most appropriate synthetic materials that would replicate the soft tissue properties. Twelve elastic materials were assessed. These are representative of the following categories of materials: Addition and condensation-reaction silicone, polysulphide, polyether, alginate, maxillofacial impression material, soft lining material and non dental materials-chair side artist materials. Suitable substitute materials to the oral mucosa were used to construct the model. Testing of the model was conducted using a series of protocols to measure and compare the retention of mandibular dentures of varying designs (well-fitting, over- and under-extended) with and without denture adhesives (PoliGrip®, GlaxoSmithKline; Fixodent®, Procter & Gamble; Super Wernets®, GlaxoSmithKline). In conclusion, an in-vitro model of a mandibular ridge can be created to approximate the biophysical characteristics of the covering mucosa, and can be used to assess differences in the retention of various denture designs and different denture adhesives

Effect of Chloride Ions on the Corrosion Behavior of Al Zn Alloy in NaOH Solution at Four Different Temperatures

This research involves study effect of chloride ions in concentration range (0.01 0.50 mol.dm-3) on the corrosion behavior of Al-Zn alloy in basic media of 1x10-3 mol.dm-3 NaOH at pH=11 and four different temperatures in the range (298-313 K). Cathodic and anodic Tafel slopes (bc &ba) and transfer coefficients (αc & αa) were calculated and the results interprets according to the variation of the rate determining steps. The results also indicate that the chloride ions are bonded chemically in the interface as an initial step of formation of different mixed oxohydroxy and chloro complexes. Polarization resistance (Rp) is calculates and interprets the different polarization behavior because of addition of chloride ions to the basic media