Impact of different sesame intercropping dates with cotton on agronomic performance and insect pests infestation

Climate change has a negative impact on cotton and sesame yields. Intercropping can promote climate resilience through higher plant resources efficiency and natural suppression of insect pests, pathogens and weeds. A the two-year field trial was conducted to determine the best dates for intercropping sesame and cotton with respect to cotton and sesame agronomic performance and infestation by major pests. Sesame was planted two weeks before cotton, simultaneously with cotton, and two weeks after cotton into cotton planted on April 1, April 15 and May 1. Delayed intercropping of sesame increased cotton yield and yield-related traits at all cotton seeding dates and reduced infestations of insect pests, especially bollworms. Conversely, intercropping sesame two weeks before cotton was sown on May 1 produced the highest sesame agronomic trait values and decreased infestations of insect pests, including the sesame capsule borer. The highest land equivalent ratio (1.21) was obtained by intercropping sesame after two weeks with cotton planted on April 1. However, the lowest land equivalent ratio (1.0) was obtained by intercropping sesame two weeks before cotton in the cotton planted on April 15. On April 1, the relative crowding coefficient for intercropping treatments exhibited greater values than one, while April 15 displayed the lowest value. All of the intercropping treatments of sesame after cotton produced the best total return compared to the sole culture of cotton on the three dates. In summary, intercropping sesame after two weeks with cotton planted on April 1 was the best option for better cotton and sesame productivity, reduced pest pressure and higher economic returns. Keywords: Cotton, Insect pests, Land equivalent ratio, Sesame, Total retur

Evaluation of The Living Escherichia coli-O78 Deleted aroA Vaccine Against Homologous and Heterologous E. coli Challenge in Broiler Chickens

To determine whether the immunization using commercially available living Escherichia coli-O78 aroA deleted vaccine (Poulvac®E. coli) is protective against APEC challenges or not. Ninety chicks were divided into six groups (15 birds/each); two groups were vaccinated at day 1 by spray and drinking routes then challenged intratracheally with homologous E. coli O78 at day 21, the other two groups were similar to the previously mentioned groups but challenged with heterologous E. coli O1 in parallel with the four challenged-vaccinated groups there were two positive control (challenged-not vaccinated) groups; one challenged with O78 and the other one with O1 at day 21 using intratacheal route. The best obtained results were recorded to the vaccinated-challenged group with the homologous strain and vaccinated by spraying method which exhibited decreases in organ lesion scores in comparison to the other groups (non-vaccinated challenged chickens and groups of chickens either homologous challenged-vaccinated through drinking water or heterologous challenged-vaccinated groups). These findings suggest that vaccine is a suitable for minimizing lesion scores against homologous challenge using spraying method that could lead to minimizing the time for treatment and cases of condemnation in processing plants

Study the Influence of Treatment Interruptions in the Radical Irradiation of Breast Cancer

Hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) in breast cancer treatment regimen (40 Grey /15 fractions/3 weeks) is more convenient for patients, especially those coming from remote areas to radiotherapy facilities and for healthcare providers, than conventional fractionation (50 Gy/25 fractions/5weeks). So the effect of radiotherapy interruption on treatment outcome (loco-regional control (LRC)& overall survival (OS)) during hypofractionated schedule is the issue of our study. Materials and Methods: We studied retrospectively 174 female patients with breast cancer who received PORT at the Clinical Oncology & Nuclear Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt, from January-2012 to December-2016. We determined the treatment outcome (OS&LRC) from the follow-up (FU) of the studied patients, as the patient still survived or died, and recurrence till now occurred or not, and were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method and Logrank test, respectively. Then we calculated surviving fraction (SF) and tumor control probability (TCP) with regard to biologically effective dose (BED), for all patients, using breast cancer radiobiological parameters. Results: When comparing patients without radiotherapy gap with patients with radiotherapy gaps, the results showed a decrease in LRC rate in patients with radiotherapy treatment interruptions by 15 % (P=0.019, a significant value), but no detrimental effect on OS because of the very limited number of the studied patients. Curves of the relationship between (SF&OTT) and (TCP&OTT) confirmed the detrimental effect of unscheduled gap during radiotherapy fractions on the treatment outcome. Also we found a significant-P value for (marital status, start day of radiotherapy fractions, time, number, and duration of gaps); it means these factors affect LRC during radiotherapy interruptions.Conclusions: Interruptions during postoperative hypofractionated irradiation of 7breast cancer (40 Gy/15 fractions/3weeks) should be avoided and if they are inevitable, they should not be prolonged more than two days, as they will adversely affect the treatment outcome (LRC)

Modeling the Interaction between β

The effect of β-amyloid aggregates on activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) which is responsible for synthesizing acetylcholine (ACh) in human brain is investigated through the two-enzyme/two-compartment (2E2C) model where the presynaptic neuron is considered as compartment 1 while both the synaptic cleft and the postsynaptic neuron are considered as compartment 2 through suggesting three different kinetic mechanisms for the inhibition effect. It is found that the incorporation of ChAT inhibition by β-amyloid aggregates into the 2E2C model is able to yield dynamic solutions for concentrations of generated β-amyloid, ACh, choline, acetate, and pH in addition to the rates of ACh synthesis and ACh hydrolysis in compartments 1 and 2. It is observed that ChAT activity needs a high concentration of β-amyloid aggregates production rate. It is found that ChAT activity is reduced significantly when neurons are exposed to high levels of β-amyloid aggregates leading to reduction in levels of ACh which is one of the most significant physiological symptoms of AD. Furthermore, the system of ACh neurocycle is dominated by the oscillatory behavior when ChAT enzyme is completely inhibited by β-amyloid. It is observed that the direct inactivation of ChAT by β-amyloid aggregates may be a probable mechanism contributing to the development of AD

COVID-19 Outbreak: Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on Health Belief Model on Nursing Students' Awareness and Health Beliefs at Najran University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to investigate the effect of an educational intervention based on the health belief model (HBM) about COVID-19 on nursing  students' awareness and health beliefs. A true-experimental research design was conducted at nursing college, Najran University, KSA. A  comprehensive sampling was followed to include all female students at the colleges (164 students). The sample was divided randomly into  intervention (82) and control group (82). The educational intervention was designed and conducted based on the HBM through four sequential phases: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The current study results indicated no statistically significant differences between intervention and control groups concerning their demographic characteristic, awareness, and health beliefs before intervention. After intervention, significant differences (p< 0.05) were observed between intervention and control groups in their awareness and all HBM constructs regarding COVID19. There were positive, statistically significant correlations (P< 0.05) between participants' total HBM score and their total awareness score. This study concluded that HBM is effective in increasing nursing students' awareness regarding COVID-19. It also increases their perceived  susceptibility, severity, and benefits. Besides, it may increase their self-efficacy to overcome perceived barriers to practice protective and preventive actions while dealing with COVID-19. Keywords: Awareness, COVID-19, Health belief model, Nursing students, Saudi Arabia   Cette étude visait à étudier l'effet d'une intervention éducative basée sur le modèle de croyance en santé (HBM) à propos du COVID-19 sur la sensibilisation des étudiants en soins infirmiers et leurs croyances en matière de santé. Une conception de recherche véritablement expérimentale a été menée au collège d'infirmières de l'Université de Najran, en Arabie Saoudite. Un échantillonnage complet a été suivi pour inclure toutes les étudiantes des collèges (164 étudiantes). L'échantillon a été divisé au hasard en groupe d'intervention (82) et groupe témoin (82). L'intervention éducative a été conçue et menée sur la base du HBM à travers quatre phases séquentielles: évaluation, planification, mise en oeuvre et évaluation. Les résultats de l'étude actuelle n'ont indiqué aucune différence statistiquement significative entre les groupes d'intervention et de contrôle concernant leurs caractéristiques démographiques, leur sensibilisation et leurs croyances en matière de santé avant l'intervention. Aprèsl'intervention, des  différences significatives (p <0,05) ont été observées entre les groupes d'intervention et de contrôle dans leur connaissance et tutes les constructions HBM concernant COVID19. Il y avait des corrélations positives et statistiquement significatives (P <0,05) entre le score HBM total des participants et leur score total de sensibilisation. Cette étude a conclu que HBM est efficace pour sensibiliser les étudiants en sciences infirmières au COVID-19. Cela augmente également leur sensibilité, leur gravité et leurs avantages perçus. En outre, cela peut augmenter leur efficacité personnelle pour surmonter les obstacles perçus à la pratique d'actions de protection et de prévention tout en traitant le COVID-19. Mots-clés: Sensibilisation, COVID-19, modèle de croyance en matière de santé, étudiants en sciences infirmières, Arabie saoudit

The Aesthetic Function of Arabic Calligraphy in Designing Dynamic Brand Identities

Arabic calligraphy can be located in its date on set of external references, starting from submission through religion trying to achieve aesthetic elements abstracted from the location itself. Therefore, the Arabic calligraphy had stated some artistic rules and regulations governing its direction. It remained as it is three centuries before and when the appearance of contemporary technologies and the exchange of artistic and social taste by the factors, which was influence by civilization. The calligraphy has taken new forms where assessors tried to adapt it aiming at achieving the new goals. Calligraphy have entered the work of prevalent logos as an effective element, trying for an attempt to achieve an identity in the logos taken from its Western centrality, and an attempt to invest the artistic power of calligraphy in designing dynamic identities.The aims of this research were formed to assess the use of aesthetic function of Arabic calligraphy in designing dynamic identities. However, now day’s dynamic identities are used in different types of new media platform, and by assessing these aesthetics, artists and designers has to be able to create a dynamic identity with a set of guidelines for the future reference. Keywords: Arabic Calligraphy, Dynamic Identities, Cross- media

Performance and Combustion Characteristics of an SI Engine Fueled With Fusel Oil-Gasoline at Different Water Content

The main objective of the current study is to investigate the impacts of fusel oil-gasoline blends with different water content on performance and combustion characteristics of an SI engine. The water content of fusel oil is reduced by employing rotary extractor method. The parameters examined in the current study are the effects of test fuels upon engine performance criteria, fuel combustion, location of CA50 and coefficient of variation of indicated mean effective pressure (COVIMEP). The experiments are conducted in a SI engine with two blending ratio of gasoline-fusel oil (FBWE10 and FAWE10) in addition to pure gasoline as a standard fuel under different engine speeds and constant 45% of WOT engine load. The study results reveal that engine power, torque, and brake thermal efficiency have slightly improved with fusel oil-gasoline blends that were obvious clearly after reduction of water content. On the other hand, though the brake specific fuel consumption of FAWE10 slightly improve compared to FBWE10 but still higher than gasoline. Furthermore, the peak in-cylinder pressure, rate of heat release, and rate of pressure rise enhanced with fusel oil-gasoline blends. The (CA 0–10) and (CA 10–90) duration could be simultaneously decreased by reducing the water content of fusel oil, all of that are helpful to improve the stability of combustion and thought to be reasons for the reduction in COVIMEP. As a conclusion, the reduction of fusel oil water content has played positively to enhance the combustion and performance characteristics of the fuel blend and result in more stable engine operation

Production of Polysaccharides (Xanthan gum) by Xanthomonas campestris pv. Sesame

Many microorganisms and plants were found produce polysaccharides which are widely varying in their composition and structure. The extracellular polysaccharide produced by   Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, is chemically analyzed and used industrially. However, only the xanthan gum which was ranking as the best among the ten polysaccharides was used commercially in large amounts. The xanthan gum has numerous applications in food and other industries. The present study was aiming to investigate the capacity of X; campestris pv. sesami for the production of xanthan gum, using culture media containing different carbon sources. The properties of the produced material were investigated (pH, viscosity, and chromatographic analysis using thin layer chromatography).  The results showed that the weight of the product was increasing with time reaching about 9.8g at the tenth day compared to only 2.1g on the second day. The results of the effect of different carbon sources indicated that sucrose was the best giving 9.0 g in the 7th day compared to only 1.5g by raffinose. The pH was changing from 6.7 at the beginning of the experiment to 4.2 in the tenth day. However, the viscosity of the inoculated sucrose medium was found to increase from 2.4 unit at the second day to 9.7 units after ten days. Analysis on paper chromatography showed that the produced polysaccharide contains mannose, glucuronic acid, glucose, rhamnose but no ribose nor trehalose or fructose were detected. The results indicated that the investigated bacterium was producing large amounts of xanthan gum. Although, Xanthan gum was discovered in 1950s its substantial commercial production began in 1964 and in 1969, the USA, Food and Drug Administration authorized its use in food. Xanthan gum, now has numerous uses in food and other industries. Further studies should be carried on other isolates  of the bacterium   X. campestris pv. sesami and more chemical analysis are needed

The role of self-esteem and self-efficacy in women empowerment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

The study aimed to explore the role of self-esteem and self-efficacy in women empowerment among academic and administrative staff at Saudi universities. A cross-sectional design was carried out at 15 governmental universities. A  multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select 5587 participants. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the predictive relation. Data collection included socio-demographic variables, Rosenberg self-esteem scale, general self-efficacy scale, and women empowerment scale. The results indicated that study participants' self-esteem was equally distributed between moderate (49.8%) and high (50.2%). Also, 66.9% of the participants had high self-efficacy, and 86.8% had high total women's empowerment. Regression coefficient showed that self-esteem (B=0.521, b=0.127, t=13.785 and p<0.001) and self-efficacy (B=2.388, b=0.702, t=76.049 and p<0.001) are important predictors of the total women empowerment. However, self-efficacy was observed to be the most dominant predictor (t=76.049). The total model summary shows that 73.4% of the women empowerment level can be predicted through self-esteem and self-efficacy. The study results can be used as a base to build women empowerment programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and help to achieve the 2030 KSA vision regarding women empowerment. Keywords: Self-esteem, self-efficacy, women empowerment, 2030 KSA vision L'étude visait à explorer le rôle de l'estime de soi et de l'efficacité personnelle dans l'autonomisation des femmes parmi le personnelacadémique et administratif des universités saoudiennes. Une conception transversale a été réalisée dans 15 universités gouvernementales. Une technique d'échantillonnage en grappes à plusieurs degrés a été utilisée pour sélectionner 5587 participants.Une régression linéaire multiple a été utilisée pour analyser la relation prédictive. La collecte de données comprenait des variablessociodémographiques, une échelle d'estime de soi de Rosenberg, une échelle d'auto-efficacité générale et une échelle d'autonomisation des femmes. Les résultats ont indiqué que l'estime de soi des participants à l'étude était également répartie entremodérée (49,8%) et élevée (50,2%). En outre, 66,9% des participants avaient une auto-efficacité élevée et 86,8% avaient une forteautonomisation totale des femmes. Le coefficient de régression a montré que l'estime de soi (B = 0,521, b = 0,127, t = 13,785 et p<0,001) et l'auto-efficacité (B = 2,388, b = 0,702, t = 76,049 et p <0,001) sont des prédicteurs importants du l'autonomisation totaledes femmes. Cependant, l'auto-efficacité a été observée comme le prédicteur le plus dominant (t = 76,049). Le résumé total dumodèle montre que 73,4% du niveau d'autonomisation des femmes peut être prédit grâce à l'estime de soi et à l'auto-efficacité. Lesrésultats de l'étude peuvent être utilisés comme base pour élaborer des programmes d'autonomisation des femmes dans le Royaumed'Arabie saoudite (KSA) et aider à réaliser la vision 2030 de la KSA concernant l'autonomisation des femmes. Mots-clés: Estime de soi, efficacité personnelle, autonomisation des femmes, vision 2030 KS