The antimicrobial activity of oil-in-water microemulsions is predicted by their position within the microemulsion stability zone

It has been shown previously that thermodynamically stable oil-in-water microemulsions have significant antimicrobial activity against planktonic cells and biofilm cells over short periods of exposure. It was the aim of this study to identify whether the position of the microemulsion within the microemulsion stability zone of the pseudo-ternary phase structure predicts the efficiency of the antimicrobial action of the microemulsion. Microemulsions were formulated at different points within the microemulsion stability zone. Experiments were performed to observe the kinetics of killing of these microemulsions against selected test microorganisms (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Candida albicans ATCC 10231, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404). The results indicated that the antimicrobial activity of the microemulsion is dependant upon its position within the zone of stability and is greater nearer the centre of that zone. The results indicate that significant antimicrobial activity can be observed at all points within the zone of microemulsion stability, but that maximal activity is to be found at the centre of that area

Existence and Uniqueness of Limit Cycles in a Class of Planar Differential Systems

This paper is an extension to the recent results presented by M. Sabatini about the existence and uniqueness of limit cycles of a certain class of planar differential systems in order to include other new classes. A concrete example exhibiting the applicability of the result is introduced

Image Data Compression Based on Two Hybrids Algorithms

Image compression is a way to reduce the storage space of images. Therefore, image compression process increases the performance of such as the data transmission process.  This paper aims to present a new technique to compress digital image data. In this technique, two-hybrid algorithms were used to compress the image data.  The first system consists of one-dimensional discrete cosine transform (DCT), differential pulse code modulation (DPCM), and Huffman code for difference signal. The second hybrid system utilizes an expert system called Learning Automata (LA) to code the difference signal obtained from the first system. A compression ratio of about (10.8:1) was obtained from the first system. The second system provides a (20.6:1) compression ratio with non-noticeable impairment. The information loss is caused by a hybrid (DCT/DPCM) system, not by the LA system. The conclusion drawn is that using two-hybrid systems to compress the image data provides a high compression ratio. Furthermore, learning automata is preferable since it removes all the redundancy in the row data. However, in learning automata,  a Huffman code is determined pixel by pixel which takes a long time

The Impact of Corporate Governance Tools in the Reduction of Creative Accounting Practices in the Jordanian Commercial Banks

In the past two decades, the world has witnessed an economic crisis and the collapse of major global companies. As example of these companies, the collapse of the US telecommunications company Worldcom in 2002, and the collapse of the largest energy companies in the United States, Enron, in 2001. The collapse of the world-renowned auditing firm Arthur Anderson to prove its involvement in the collapse of Enron, where the reasons for the collapse of these companies were found to be the low ethics of professionals and their use by some of the accounting practices known as creative accounting practices in order to create imaginary improve in their financial statement. Therefore, it was necessary to use modern accounting systems for management and control to reduce the practices and methods of the creative accounting, and help to protect the capital and the interests of all parties through the activation of transparency and accountability, and one of these accounting systems known as corporate governance and its tools

Zakat on Bonds in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh): Theory and Practice

Bonds are one of the contemporary financial instruments that need more understanding, clarification and research, and most studies focus on the theoretical side of bonds without addressing the practical side. Fiqh opinions focused on the provisions of zakat of bonds, their quorum and the amount of zakat. But none of the Fiqh opinions or books specialized in zakat clarified the ways for calculating zakat of bonds of all kinds in detail. In this research, the Fiqh opinion will be linked to the calculation of zakat on various bonds through the use of the principles of financial accounting. Thus, this research will provide a practical and applied reference for calculating zakat of bonds, and to be a reference in this field for each of the bond owners and the seeker of Sharia knowledge through calculating zakat of bonds and clarified more by applied mathematical examples

Role of Lean Accounting in Reduction Production Costs in Jordanian Manufacturing Corporation

This study is created to identify the role of lean accounting in the reduction of production costs in Jordanian Manufacturing Corporation. To achieve the purposes of the study, the researchers develop a questionnaire consists of (72) items. The population of the study includes of managers of financial departments, workers in the department of human resources and information technology, and workers in the fields of sales, marketing and procurement. The questionnaire has been examined (56) Jordanian manufacturing corporations. The researchers in this work sent a random sample of the questionnaire for all components, which the total of questioners were (280) with average of (5) questionnaires for each company. A total of (242) questionnaires were retrieved, which (227) of them with percentage of 81% were capable of analyzing. On the other hand, (15) questionnaires incapable of analyzing because was uncompleted by the examiners. We can summarize the findings of the study in the following points; first, the most important one is the existence the role of adoption lean accounting in the reduction of production costs in Jordanian Manufacturing Corporation. The study concluded with some recommendations such as the activate the use of the value principle of Lean accounting was more high to eliminate waste and loss, and also to achieve maximum benefits for the company by finding solutions to the problems and obstacles that face the production process. Kaywords: Lean Accounting, Manufacturing Company, Jorda

Suppression of Phytophthora infestans in Potatoes by Foliar Application of Food Nutrients and Compost Tea

Abstract: The efficacy of compost tea (CT), food nutrients (FD), and manzate (MZ) applied foliarly against late blight (Phytophthora infestans) of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) 'Green Mountain' and 'Russet Burbank' was evaluated in greenhouse trials conducted in New Brunswick, Canada. Percent of late blight incidence and severity were assessed four weeks after treatment and inoculation. Relative to the untreated control treatments, MZ reduced late blight severity by 92% and 99%; CT reduced severity by 29% and 27%; and FD reduced severity by 22 and 35% in 'Green Mountain' and 'Russet Burbank', respectively. In a separate study on the cultivar 'Shepody' comprising of 13 different treatments including combinations of compost tea and food nutrients, treatment with a combination of compost tea and seaweed extract resulted in 36% reduction in late blight severity relative to the inoculated control treatment. The combinations of CT + whey, CT + potassium bicarbonate, CT + Neptune's, and CT + organic gem reduced disease severity by 21, 10, 10, and 5%, respectively, relative to the inoculated control treatment. The results of this study shed the light on the potentially positive effect of combinations of compost tea and food nutrients as an alternative, relatively cheap, and environmentally safe tool for late blight control in potatoes. Such new tools are essential for fungicide resistance management

Continuous-flow production of isosorbide from aqueous-cellulosic derivable feed over sustainable heterogeneous catalysts

Continuous-flow sorbitol dehydration in liquid water was performed on β zeolite (Si/Al molar ratio = 75) with conversion of 94 and 83 mol % isosorbide yield. This efficiency is due to the three-dimension pore architecture, high specific surface area (520 m2 g–1), and Brønsted acid sites of 69 μmol g–1. The pore size of β zeolite (6.6 × 6.7 Å2) is slightly larger than the cross section of sorbitol and isosorbide and enables an efficient diffusion of the reactant and product to/from the pores. Operation in continuous flow allows rapid dehydration of sorbitol to 1,4-sorbitan, after which the latter got converted to isosorbide. The high yield of isosorbide is attributed to the continuous removal of the formed products from the catalyst surface. Finally, direct isosorbide production from aqueous glucose solution via hydrogenation on Ni catalyst supported on nitrogen-doped carbon, followed by dehydration of the formed sorbitol to isosorbide, was pioneered