The study of vesicle phoresis in a concentration gradient

The targeted delivery of drugs to specific diseased sites within the body is one of the major issues in the development of drug delivery today. This is particularly relevant in addressing central nervous system (CNS) disorders and diseases, diseases localised in the brain and spinal cord, where the delivery of the therapeutics is limited by the brain barriers. Consequently, the design of drug delivery systems able to independently navigate within the body to specifically deliver the cargo into the brain is desirable. Inspired by nature, scientists have created artificial self-propelling micro and nanoparticles, known as micro- or nano- swimmers. This thesis focuses on the self-assembly and migration of vesicular nanoparticles within a glucose gradient as potential nanoswimmers. Two types of nanoparticles are explored: a) bi-component PMPC-PDPA:PEO-PBO polymersomes and b) α-hemolysine-porated liposomes. First, a methodology to self-assemble the PMPC-PDPA:PEO-PBO polymersomes is optimised to attain a monodisperse, vesicular sample. This was followed by the incorporation of glucose oxidase enzyme into both the polymersomes and liposomes with an average of 6 and 16 enzymes per nanoparticle respectively. The diffusioosmotic drift and the background convection of the fluid within the glucose gradient in presence of the nanoparticles was then investigated. It is found that velocities of the fluid significantly vary by the mere introduction of a nanoparticle into the gradient. Velocity profiles of each nanoparticle in the glucose gradient were developed isolating the diffusioosmotic drifts. Finally, the diffusiophoretic and chemotactic components of the nanoparticles were quantified and isolated. It was found that the polymersomes experience higher mean-square displacement with directed self-propulsion velocities towards the region of higher glucose concentration. The liposomes experience a strong diffusioosmotic drift away from the glucose gradient, nevertheless, a slight reduction in these velocities was observed suggesting self-propulsion of the active liposomes towards the glucose incapable of overcoming the diffusioosmotic drift

Synthesis, Characterization and Flocculation Properties of Acacia tortilis Grafted with Styrene

هدفت هذه الدراسة لتحضير وتشخيص صمغ الأكاسيا المدمج ودراسة تطبيقاتها كمواد ذات خصائص تجميعية. حُضرت العينات المدمجة باستخدام تراكيز متباينة من المونومر وكذلك من جرعات أشعة جاما‘ شُخصت العينات باستخدام مطيافية الأشعة تحت الحمراء‘ والتحليل الحراري الوزني‘ واللزوجة‘ وقياس الأس الهيدروجيني‘ وكذلك كفاءة الدمج. بينت النتائج أن كفاءة الدمج تعتمد بصورة أساسية على تركيز المونومر. بالإضافة الى ذلك فقد وُجد أن كل من جرعة الأشعة وتركيز المونومر لها آثار كبيرة على لزوجة المحاليل المائية للعينات المدمجة. أظهرت العينتان 3c و 1b أعلى قيم للزوجة وهى 49 cp و 44 cp مقارنة بالعينة الخام والتى لها لزوجة تبلغ 10 cp . بينت نتائج التحليل الحراري أن العينة الخام تتفكك فى ثلاث مراحل عند درجة حرارة 199.3 و 284.0 و 439.0 درجة مئوية. وقد وجد أن العينات المدمجة أكثر إستقراراً حراريا من الصمغ الخام. أخيراً فقد وُجد أن للعينات المدمجة خصائص تجميعية أفضل من الصمغ الخام

The Effectiveness of Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Li-Cbt) On Reducing Symptoms of Depression in Arab Clients

This study examines whether an awareness of LI-CBT skills would result into the reduction of symptoms of depression in Arab clients. The study exclusively applies two techniques, behavioral activation (BA) and cognitive restructuring (CR), to clients of varying levels of depression residing in the United Arab Emirates. Utilizing a pre-test-post-test design, 50 participants (25treatment and 25control) were included in the analyses of the study and level of depression was measured using the PHQ-9. Results indicate that 76 percent of participants in the treatment group showed improvement in their level of depression, when compared to 30.4 percent of participants in the control group. Findings suggest that Li-CBT may be a plausible intervention for tackling depression among Arab clients

Harnessing the Power of Hugging Face Transformers for Predicting Mental Health Disorders in Social Networks

Early diagnosis of mental disorders and intervention can facilitate the prevention of severe injuries and the improvement of treatment results. Using social media and pre-trained language models, this study explores how user-generated data can be used to predict mental disorder symptoms. Our study compares four different BERT models of Hugging Face with standard machine learning techniques used in automatic depression diagnosis in recent literature. The results show that new models outperform the previous approach with an accuracy rate of up to 97%. Analyzing the results while complementing past findings, we find that even tiny amounts of data (like users' bio descriptions) have the potential to predict mental disorders. We conclude that social media data is an excellent source of mental health screening, and pre-trained models can effectively automate this critical task.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Role of Project Managers Skills in Supply Chain Management of Small Project's Marketing

Abstract The research tackled the role of the project managers' skills in terms of its dimensions (intellectual, administrative, human and technical) and its impact on the supply chain management and marketing of small projects and the dimensions of the marketing mix, i.e., product/service, price, promotion and Place. The research problem focused on the nature of the relationship between the skills of project managers, The research also sought a set of objectives, the most important of which is the definition of the importance of small and medium enterprises and their role in reducing unemployment in the society if it is marketed appropriately and this is achieved through the enjoyment of leaders or project managers with skills to qualify for The questionnaire was distributed to the administrative staff and the 100 employees in different beauty centers in Baghdad. The research was based on the analytical descriptive method. The researcher used the answers of the questionnaire as an analytical tool in the practical side, based on the statistical program (spss) The research hypotheses reached a set of conclusions through testing and analysis of the hypotheses adopted by the research. The research concluded with a set of recommendations that could be taken by the managers of these projects

Ponovno branje zgodovine mesta Dargazin skozi podobe miniatur Nasuha Matrakçija

This article focuses on the miniature paintings of Nasuh Matrakçi who came to the west of Iran during the Safavid period. Matrakçi’s miniatures are among the oldest surviving images of Dargazin city, the like of which cannot be found in other travelogues and historians’ works. The surviving three images at two different settings can help us understand the urban and social status of Dargazin in the Safavid period. The findings indicate that, thanks to its Sunni residents and because of its geopolitical significance, Dargazin was of great interest to Ottoman and Safavid rulers who turned it to the governing base of the region. This played an important role in the city’s development in the way that in some areas, like the design of gardens, the traditional architecture of the Safavid period was mixed with original Persian style.Članek se osredotoča na miniature Nasuha Matrakçija, ki je v zahodni Iran prišel v času Safavidov. Njegove miniature spadajo med najstarejše ohranjene podobe mesta Dargazin. V drugih popotniških besedilih in zgodovinskih delih ni mogoče najti takih podob. Tri ohranjene podobe, ki kažejo dva različna prizora, nam pomagajo razumeti urbani in družbeni status Dargazina v času Safavidov. Zahvaljujoč sunitskemu prebivalstvu mesta in njegovemu geopolitičnemu pomenu, najdbe nakazujejo pomen, ki ga je mesto imelo za Otomane in Safavide, v času katerih je bil Dargazin upravno središče regije. Ta status je imel pomembno vlogo v razvoju mesta, kar se kaže v tem, da se je na nekaterih področjih, kot je oblikovanje vrtov, tradicionalna arhitektura safavidskega obdobja mešala s prvotnim perzijskim slogom

Effect of Sn Addition on Phase Transformation Behavior of Equiatomic Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy

تمت دراسة تأثير Sn على سلوك التحول الطوري والبنية المجهرية والصلادة  الدقيقة لسبائك NiTi المتذكرة الشكل. تم إنتاج سبيكة نيكل تيتانيوم وسبيكة نيكل تيتانيوم قصدير بطريقة الصهر الحثي في الفراغ بتركيب  (Ni 50 % ،  50% Ti) و ( 48% Ni ، 50%Ti ، 2 % Sn). تم فحص خصائص كلتا السبيكتين باستخدام الماسح الحراري التفاضلي وتحليل حيود الأشعة السينية المجهر الالكتروني الماسح والمجهر الضوئي واختبار صلادة فيكر الدقيقة . أظهرت النتائج أن إضافة عنصر Sn تؤدي إلى انخفاض درجات حرارة التحول الطوري بشكل واضح. تحتوي كلتا عينات سبيكة على طور الاساس (NiTi) وطور Ti2Ni)) الثانوي ، ولكن محتوى طور Ti2Ni انخفض مع إضافة Sn وهذا احد الأسباب التي تؤدي إلى تقليل الصلادة الدقيقة للسبائك مع أضافة عنصر Sn بطريقة ملحوظة ، انخفضت الصلادة الدقيقة من 238.74 لسبيكة NiTi المتساوية التركيب إلى 202 لسبيكة NiTiSn بعد المعاملة الحرارية.Sn effect on the phase transformation behavior, microstructure, and micro hardness of equiatomic Ni-Ti shape memory alloy was studied. NiTi and NiTiSn alloys were produced using vacuum induction melting process with alloys composition (50% at. Ni, 50% at.Ti) and (Ni 48% at., Ti 50% at., Sn 2% at.). The characteristics of both alloys were investigated by utilizing Differential Scanning Calorimetry, X- ray Diffraction Analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope, optical microscope and vicker's micro hardness test. The results showed that adding Sn element leads to decrease the phase transformation temperatures evidently. Both alloy samples contain NiTi matrix phase and Ti2Ni secondary phase, but the Ti2Ni phase content decreases with Sn addition and this is one of the reasons that leads to decrease the micro hardness of alloy with adding Sn element in a noticeable manner. The micro hardness decreases from 238.74 for NiTi equiatomic alloy to 202 for NiTiSn alloy after heat treatment

Quantum Chemistry of Cocaine and its Isomers I: Energetics, Reactivity and Solvation

We investigate the rich stereochemistry of cocaine and its diastereoisomers from a theoretical perspective using density functional theory. The relative stability of the eight considered isomers is discussed, and a comparison of the corresponding internal coordinates is given. Our results reveal that the S-pseudococaine isomer is the most stable conformation, whereas the natural occurring isomer (R-cocaine) lies higher in energy. The different isomers’ chemical reactivity is discussed based on the calculation of the hardness, softness, electrophilicity and dipole moment. It was found that the dipole moment varies over a broad range from 0.65 to 4.60 D, whereas the other properties are slightly modified. The solvent effect on the energy stability of the cocaine isomers was studied by considering chloroform, dimethyl-sulfoxide (DMSO) and water as implicit solvents. Our calculations show that the different isomers’ energy order and their energy gaps are slightly modified due to solvent effects. However, in all cases, the S-pseudococaine remains the most stable isomer. However, the dipole moment and the chemical reactivity of the cocaine isomers increase with the solvent polarity

Visualisation of turbulent flows in a swirl burner under the effects of axial air jets

Meeting emission regulations represents a real challenge in the power generation sector. Swirl combustors and their operation under lean premixed (LP) conditions are a step towards attaining low emissions, especially NOx formation, while ensuring high efficiency. However, performing modifications on combustors and reaching the requirements of efficient combustion systems is difficult due to many combustion problems such as extinction, low reaction rates, mild heat release, instabilities, and mixing issues. Thus, giving careful attention to the hydrodynamics design of the swirl burners with extensive testing methods in both experimental and numerical approaches is crucial to stabilise the combustion phenomena in gas turbines. As a result, this study employed the implementation of CFD simulations in the design of a 150 kW tangential swirl burner and considered the consequences of 50 LPM diffusive air injection at different positions on three-dimensional isothermal flow field characterizations, especially the turbulence, downstream the burner nozzle. Various mass flow rates from 600 to 1000 l/min were used at atmospheric conditions with a geometrical swirl number of 0.913. Experimental work was conducted with good correlation. It was found that using the air injection system could increase the flashback resistance by affecting the velocity defect downstream the burner nozzle. Moreover, the axial air jet reduces the flow field turbulence at the central recirculation zone (CRZ) tip and hence minimises the flow fluctuations and affect its size and position. CFD results show a very good agreement with Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) data acquired from the experimental work

Biotreatment of AL-KARAMA Teaching Hospital Wastewater Using Aerobic Packed Bed

This study is aimed to use the aerobic packed bed in biotreatment of the wastewater which is discharge from AL-KARAMA teaching hospital in Baghdad. The performance of packed-bed treatment method was examined for elimination of the organic compounds from wastewater under aerobic conditions. In this research different parameters were studied. They were: inoculums concentration, circulation rate of wastewater through the bed, packing type and the temperature. Results showed that the system efficiently removed about 82% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 80% of the Biological oxygen demand (BOD). Percent reduction in turbidity was about 92% and reduction in nitrate concentration was about 87%. It was found that best performance of the packed bed method was obtained at temperature of 37 oC, circulation rate of 10 L/min and inoculums concentration of 3%