Hydrological modelling of ungauged arid volcanic environments at upper Bathan catchment, Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Hydrological modelling of ungauged catchments is still a challenging task especially in arid regions with a unique land cover features such as highly fracture volcanic basalt rocks. In this study, upper Bathan catchment (103 km2) in Madinah, western of Saudi Arabia is selected. The aim of this paper is to simulate the hydrological responses of volcanic catchment to daily design storm events. The weighted areal average of two daily design rainfall depth scenarios are computed, which are 50 years and 100 years return period and correspondent predicted rainfall are 80.6 mm and 94.1 mm, respectively. SCS Type II temporal synthetic distribution of daily rainfall is selected to disaggregate the daily rainfall into smaller time interval. Excess rainfall is computed using Soil Conservation Services Curve Number (SCS-CN) method based on Land Cover and Land Use (LCLU) and hydrological soil groups (HSG) maps, while direct runoff hydrograph is developed using Soil Conservation Services dimensionless unit hydrograph (SCS-UH) method using lag time equation. HEC-HMS software is used, and it showed that the runoff volumes of the two rainfall scenarios are 50% and 54% of the total rainfall depth, and the peak discharges are 123 m3/sec and 158 m3/sec. This study provided an indication of the hydrograph characteristics of basaltic catchments and the result of this paper can be used for further flood studies in arid ungauged volcanic catchments

The Level of Awareness of Female Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities with the Concepts of Sustainable Development and Their Application in Elementary Schools

The current study aimed to identify the level of familiarity of teachers with learning disabilities with the concepts of sustainable development and their application in the elementary schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Learning disabilities in the concepts of sustainable development, and the second dimension is their application of these concepts in the primary stage, and the psychometric properties of validity and stability were verified, and the study sample consisted of (100) female teachers. The results found that there were no differences in the teachers’ knowledge of the concepts of sustainable development and their application in the primary stage due to the variable of experience, while it was found that there were differences due to the variable of academic qualification in favor of the higher qualification over the lower one. Generally, the total mean of the awareness and application for the age (from 1 to 5 years is 4.17) and the SD is 0.89, (from 5 to 10 years is 4.35) and the SD is 0.59, (from 10 to 15 years is 4.27) and the SD is 0.81, and (more than 15 years 13 is 4.37) and the SD is 0.52.The study came out with some recommendations, it is necessary to strengthen and encourage female teachers to maintain a high level of awareness and application of the concepts of sustainable development in schools for elementary school

Developmental nmda receptor dysregulation in the infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis mouse model

Protein palmitoylation and depalmitoylation alter protein function. This post-translational modification is critical for synaptic transmission and plasticity. Mutation of the depalmitoylating enzyme palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1) causes infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (CLN1), a pediatric neurodegenerative disease. However, the role of protein depalmitoylation in synaptic maturation is unknown. Therefore, we studied synapse development in Ppt1-/- mouse visual cortex. We demonstrate that the developmental N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit switch from GluN2B to GluN2A is stagnated in Ppt1-/- mice. Correspondingly, Ppt1-/- neurons exhibit immature evoked NMDAR currents and dendritic spine morphology in vivo. Further, dissociated Ppt1-/- cultured neurons show extrasynaptic, diffuse calcium influxes and enhanced vulnerability to NMDA-induced excitotoxicity, reflecting the predominance of GluN2B-containing receptors. Remarkably, Ppt1-/- neurons demonstrate hyperpalmitoylation of GluN2B as well as Fyn kinase, which regulates surface retention of GluN2B. Thus, PPT1 plays a critical role in postsynapse maturation by facilitating the GluN2 subunit switch and proteostasis of palmitoylated proteins

Synthesis and antibacterial effects of cobalt–cellulose magnetic nanocomposites

© The Royal Society of Chemistry. Green synthesis is employed to prepare cobalt/cellulose nanocomposites with cubic (α-cobalt) cobalt as a main component with antibacterial and magnetic properties. An in situ reduction of aqueous solutions of cobalt ions on a model cellulose substrate surface using hydrogen gas affords spherical, cellulose-stabilised cobalt nanoclusters with magnetic properties and an average diameter of 7 nm that are distributed evenly over the surface of the cellulose fibres. These cobalt/cellulose nanocomposites exhibit good antibacterial action against opportunistic pathogens both Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli, A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa), with zones of inhibition up to 15 mm, thereby encouraging the deployment of these advanced materials for the treatment of wastewater or within medical dressings. This method of preparation is compared with the analogous in situ reduction of cobalt ions on a cellulose surface using sodium borohydride as reducing agent

Contrast sensitivity deficits in patients with mutation-proven inherited retinal degenerations

Abstract Background Patients with retinal diseases frequently complain of poor visual function even when visual acuity is relatively unaffected. This clinical finding has been attributed to deficits in contrast sensitivity (CS). The purpose of our study was to evaluate the CS in patients with clinical and genetic diagnosis of inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) and relatively preserved visual acuity. Methods Seventeen patients (30 eyes) with IRD and visual acuity of 20/40 or better, and 18 controls (18 eyes) without any ocular condition underwent slit lamp examination, visual acuity testing via standard Snellen chart testing, CS testing via the Quick Contrast Sensitivity Function (QCSF), and Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). CS were measured at 1.0, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 12.0, and 18.0 cycles per degree (cpd). T tests with general estimated equations were used to compare CS between groups. Wald chi square followed by pairwise comparisons was used to compare CS between multiple groups. Results We included 12 patients with rod-cone dystrophy (RCD), 3 patients with Stargardt disease (STGD) and 2 patients with Best disease. Patients with IRD had significantly worse CS than controls (p < 0.001) in all spatial frequencies. Patients with STGD had more marked deficits in CS than patients with Best disease (p < 0.001) and RCD (p < 0.001) despite having similar visual acuities. Conclusion Patients with IRD, especially patients with STGD with relatively preserved visual acuity have marked deficits in CS when measured across a range of spatial frequencies. We recommend that clinical trials for STGD incorporate CS measured over a range of spatial frequencies as a secondary clinical endpoint for monitoring visual function. CS may provide an explanation for complaints of visual dysfunction when visual acuity is not significantly altered.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146723/1/12886_2018_Article_982.pd

I see your effort: Force-Related BOLD effects in an extended action execution-observation network involving the cerebellum

Action observation (AO) is crucial for motor planning, imitation learning, and social interaction, but it is not clear whether and how an action execution-observation network (AEON) processes the effort of others engaged in performing actions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we used a "squeeze ball" task involving different grip forces to investigate whether AEON activation showed similar patterns when executing the task or observing others performing it. Both in action execution, AE (subjects performed the visuomotor task) and action observation, AO (subjects watched a video of the task being performed by someone else), the fMRI signal was detected in cerebral and cerebellar regions. These responses showed various relationships with force mapping onto specific areas of the sensorimotor and cognitive systems. Conjunction analysis of AE and AO was repeated for the "0th" order and linear and nonlinear responses, and revealed multiple AEON nodes remapping the detection of actions, and also effort, of another person onto the observer's own cerebrocerebellar system. This result implies that the AEON exploits the cerebellum, which is known to process sensorimotor predictions and simulations, performing an internal assessment of forces and integrating information into high-level schemes, providing a crucial substrate for action imitation

Modified shear stress transport model with curvature correction for the prediction of swirling flow in a cyclone separator

The paper investigates the confined swirling flow in a cyclone. The numerical simulations are performed using a proposed eddy viscosity turbulence model, which accounts for the effects of the streamline curvature and rotation. This distinguishes the current model from the conventional Eddy Viscosity Models (EVMs) that are known to fail to predict the Rankine vortex in swirling flows. Although computationally more expensive approaches, the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES), have demonstrated a high capability of dealing with such flows, these techniques are often unsuited for use in complex design studies where computational speed and robustness are key factors. In the present approach, the Shear Stress Transport with Curvature Correction (SSTCC) turbulence model is modified by the introduction of the Richardson number to account for the rotation and curvature effects. The numerical predictions were validated using experimental results and also compared to the data obtained using the RSM model and various EVMs without the proposed modifications. The investigations started with a benchmark case of a flow through a channel duct with a U-turn, after which more challenging simulations of a high swirling flow within a cyclone separator device were performed. The results show that the proposed model is competitive in terms of accuracy when compared to RSM and proves to be superior to the RSM model in terms of computational cost. Furthermore, it is found that the proposed model preserves the ability to represent the Rankine vortex profile at different longitudinal levels of the cyclone. It is also more efficient in terms of the computational cost than the SSTCC model without the introduced modifications

I see your effort: force-related BOLD effects in an extended action execution-observation network involving the cerebellum

Action observation (AO) is crucial for motor planning, imitation learning, and social interaction, but it is not clear whether and how an action execution–observation network (AEON) processes the effort of others engaged in performing actions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we used a “squeeze ball” task involving different grip forces to investigate whether AEON activation showed similar patterns when executing the task or observing others performing it. Both in action execution, AE (subjects performed the visuomotor task) and action observation, AO (subjects watched a video of the task being performed by someone else), the fMRI signal was detected in cerebral and cerebellar regions. These responses showed various relationships with force mapping onto specific areas of the sensorimotor and cognitive systems. Conjunction analysis of AE and AO was repeated for the “0th” order and linear and nonlinear responses, and revealed multiple AEON nodes remapping the detection of actions, and also effort, of another person onto the observer’s own cerebrocerebellar system. This result implies that the AEON exploits the cerebellum, which is known to process sensorimotor predictions and simulations, performing an internal assessment of forces and integrating information into high-level schemes, providing a crucial substrate for action imitation