Effect of pre-storage salicylic acid, calcium chloride and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid dipping on chilling injury and quality of ‘Taify’ cactus pear fruit during cold storage

The effects of pre-storage salicylic acid (SA) calcium chloride (CaCl2) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) treatments on chilling injury (CI) and quality of cactus pear fruit during storage were investigated. The results showed that SA application at 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 mM significantly decreased CI index compared to all the other treatments. Increasing SA rate to 3.0 or 4.0 mM did not result in a further reduction in CI index. However, CaCl2 (at 2, 3, and 4%) and 2,4-D (at 100, 150 and 200 ppm) had no effect on CI index. CI increased during storage and was higher at 30 than at 10 and 20 days of storage. Weight loss was not affected by any of the treatments but was higher at 10 than at 20 and 30 days of storage. Decay was not affected by any of the treatments but was higher at 30 than at 10 and 20 days of storage. Firmness was higher at 200 ppm 2,4-D than all the other treatments. Fruit acidity was not affected by any of the applied treatments but was lower at 20 and 30 days than at 10 days of storage. The pH of fruit juice increased during 30 days of storage and was lower in the SA treatments than the control. Total soluble solids (TSS) concentration was higher in the control than all the other treatments, except for the SA at 4.0 mM treatment. TSS concentration was higher at 10 than at 20 and 30 days of storage. Vitamin C concentration was lower at 20 than at 10 and 30 days of storage and was lower in the CaCl2 treatments than the control. Total phenols concentration increased during 30 days of storage and was lower in the CaCl2 and 2,4-D treatments than the control. It was concluded that pre-storage SA dipping at 2.0 mM reduced chilling injury and retained quality of cactus fruit.Key words: Cactus pear, salicylic acid, CaCl2, 2,4-D, chilling injury, storage

Intrusion detection in IPv6-enabled sensor networks.

In this research, we study efficient and lightweight Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) for ad-hoc networks through the lens of IPv6-enabled Wireless Sensor Actuator Networks. These networks consist of highly constrained devices able to communicate wirelessly in an ad-hoc fashion, thus following the architecture of ad-hoc networks. Current state of the art IDS in IoT and WSNs have been developed considering the architecture of conventional computer networks, and as such they do not efficiently address the paradigm of ad-hoc networks, which is highly relevant in emerging network paradigms, such as the Internet of Things (IoT). In this context, the network properties of resilience and redundancy have not been extensively studied. In this thesis, we first identify a trade-off between the communication and energy overheads of an IDS (as captured by the number of active IDS agents in the network) and the performance of the system in terms of successfully identifying attacks. In order to fine-tune this trade-off, we model networks as Random Geometric Graphs; these are a rigorous approach that allows us to capture underlying structural properties of the network. We then introduce a novel IDS architectural approach that consists of a central IDS agent and set of distributed IDS agents deployed uniformly at random over the network area. These nodes are able to efficiently detect attacks at the networking layer in a collaborative manner by monitoring locally available network information provided by IoT routing protocols, such as RPL. The detailed experimental evaluation conducted in this research demonstrates significant performance gains in terms of communication overhead and energy dissipation while maintaining high detection rates. We also show that the performance of our IDS in ad-hoc networks does not rely on the size of the network but on fundamental underling network properties, such as the network topology and the average degree of the nodes. The experiments show that our proposed IDS architecture is resilient against frequent topology changes due to node failures

The Evolution Of Smartcard And EMV Migration In Bahrain

Within the improvement of Information Technology era, many business enterprises, academia institutions and banks in various regions around the world are enthusiastic and looking into the future by producing an all-in-one smart card with Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) protocols for their employees, students or customers. This smart card can be used in different fields such as ID card, debit/credit card, transportations, healthcare, communication networks, loyalty, etc., with high level of security.  This paper gives the reader an overview of the evolution of smart card and the important benefits derived over the existing traditional magnetic stripe card. The paper aims to study the following five key elements: Importance of EMV, EMV Implementation in Bahrain, Obstacles and Constraints, Customer Satisfaction, and EMV Future in Bahrain.  The results of the study reveals that Bahrain is on its approach towards the EMV migration and will definitely be ready for rollout in the coming few years. It was also demonstrated that even though adopting EMV smart card technology may cost the organization a lot, it would be on the other hand very beneficial to them in many different aspects. Furthermore, it was provided that moving toward smart card in general will differentiate Bahrain and will put her among the leader.  This paper can be used as a basis for further researches to improve specific aspects of the evolution of smart card and EMV Migration in the Kingdom of Bahrain or elsewhere. It will also provide a useful input for other local banks and/or organizations that have not proceed towards smart card adaptation yet

Study of some biological aspects of the blowfly Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann 1819) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

AbstractWe reared Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann 1819) unadult stages (first larval instar, second larval instar, third larval instar and pupal stage) under four constant temperatures. Results proved that increasing temperature from 20 to 25, 30 and 35°C reduced total larval stage duration (9–6, 4.83 and 4.75days, respectively) and pupal duration (7, 5.5, 4 and 1.5days, respectively). C. albiceps larvae at first instar reached adult stage in the longest time at 20°C (16days), and in the shortest time at 35°C (6.25days). The accumulation degree-day (ADD) at 20, 25, 30, 35°C for first larval instar were 8.86, 13.86, 18.86, 23.86 DD, for second larval instar were 10.5, 12, 17, 22 DD and for third larval instar were 35.88, 42.08, 43.97, 56.43 DD. Heat requirements for larval stage at different temperatures; 20, 25, 30 and 35°C (49.68, 63.12, 75.01 and 97.47 DD) were more than the pupal requirements at the same temperatures (39.78, 58.76, 62.73 and 31.02 DD). Total heat requirements for C. albiceps to develop from the first larval instar to adult eclosion were the lowest at 20°C (89.46 DD) and the highest at 30°C (129.138 DD). Decreasing of temperature increased larval body length at the same age. The development curves for C. albiceps were established at four constant temperatures using larval length and the time since egg hatching

Peer-reviewed Public Health Journals

Peer-reviewed Public Health journals are essential media for the workers in the public health field. There are already many periodicals published in the public health domain and still many new ones are being added. Journalism in public health is facing many changes and challenges. Technologies and smart phones applications in particular affected the pattern of publication and readership of these journals. This report shed some light on the current peer-reviewed periodicals in the public health

Effect of pre-harvest calcium chloride and ethanol spray on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during storage

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) are highly perishable due to postharvest fungal decay and softening. The effects of pre-harvest calcium chloride (CC) (at 1 or 2 %) and ethanol (at 10 or 20 %) spray at 30 and 7 days before harvest on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during cold storage at 0 °C ± 1 plus 1 day of shelf life at 20 °C were evaluated. Pre-harvest spray of CC and ethanol at both low and high concentrations significantly decreased berry decay percentage during storage compared to control. The combination between CC and ethanol also decreased decay compared to control but was less effective than each one alone. In this respect, there were no significant differences between low and high concentration of CC and ethanol. In all treatments, decay was recorded after 30 days of storage and significantly increased to reach 26.3 % after 50 days. CC spray alone, at both concentrations, increased weight loss percentage compared to control and most other treatments. However ethanol spray especially at 20 % decreased weight loss compared to other treatments except for 10 % ethanol spray. The combination between CC and ethanol, however, increased weight loss compared to control except for, 1 % CC plus 20 % ethanol and 2 % CC plus 10 % ethanol. Weight loss percentage increased during storage to reach 2.30 % after 50 days of storage. However, the overall quality characteristics of berries as firmness, TSS, acidity, TSS/acid ratio, pH, vitamin C, total phenols and soluble tannins were not negatively affected by both CC and ethanol spray treatments. Also, both CC and ethanol spray caused neither foliar damage on the vines nor significant changes in berry quality. It is concluded that pre-harvest spray of 1 % CC or 20 % ethanol could be suggested as practical alternatives to synthetic fungicides and SO2 to decrease postharvest decay and improve quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes.

Rainfall-Runoff Modelling in Arid Areas

Arid areas have distinctive hydrological features substantially different from those of humid areas. The high temporal and spatial distribution of the ra;infall, flash floods, absence of base flow, sparsity of plant cover, high transmission losses, high amounts of evaporation and evapotranspiration and the general climatologies are examples of such differences. The aim of this Ph.D. research is to use advanced tools of model analysis to test some of the current models that consider arid area hydrological characteristics. As most models were mainly developed for other regions, an attempt is made to study their limitations using Omani hydrological data, providing some guidelines for improved rainfall-runoff modelling in arid areas in general and Oman in particular. Two different types of models were selected for this research; KINEROS, which is an event based, semi-distributed, physically-based model that is considered suitable to be used for arid area conditions, and, which is continuous, lumped, conceptual model. Two Omani catchments were selected to test the performance of the selected models and to identify the main uncertainties arising, to provide some recommendations regarding the suitability of these models or model types and how they might be improved, to highlight any further data that is required, and how uncertainties should be handled in model applications.Imperial Users onl

The Legal Protection of Trade Secrets: A Comparative Analysis of Saudi and American Trade Secret Regulations in Light of the TRIPS Agreement

The present paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the legal rules governing the protection of trade secrets in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. in light of the provisions of the TRIPs agreement. The paper reviews the attempts made by legal writers to define trade secrets and the difference between trade secrets and other forms of intellectual property rights. Moreover, it discusses the definition of trade secrets according to Saudi and U.S. laws and the sources of trade secrets Law in both the U.S. and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The paper explores the differences and similarities between the system of protection of trade secrets under these legal systems. The paper discusses the misappropriation of trade secrets, the violation of the honest commercial practices, and the improper use of trade secrets by third parties which raises legal responsibility. The study concludes that the Saudi regulations on the protection of trade secrets are in line with the Kingdom\u27s obligations stemming from the TRIPs agreement. The paper found that there is a wide range of similarities between the legal regime governing trade secrets in Saudi Arabia and that of the U.S. The research revealed that there are certain issues relating to the protection of trade secrets under Saudi law need to be revised, and it suggested a regulatory reform in the Saudi trade secret regulations and the Saudi Labor la

A novel computational approach to approximate fuzzy interpolation polynomials

This paper build a structure of fuzzy neural network, which is well sufficient to gain a fuzzy interpolation polynomial of the form yp=anxnp+⋯+a1xp+a0 where aj is crisp number (for j=0,…,n), which interpolates the fuzzy data (xj,yj)(forj=0,…,n). Thus, a gradient descent algorithm is constructed to train the neural network in such a way that the unknown coefficients of fuzzy polynomial are estimated by the neural network. The numeral experimentations portray that the present interpolation methodology is reliable and efficient