Diagnosing the barriers for integrating Educational Technology in Physics courses in Lebanese secondary schools

This paper investigates the barriers affecting the success implementation of ICT in the Lebanese secondary physics classes. It is realistic based study adopted the descriptive quantitative method to collect data by attitude test survey from 94 Lebanese secondary schools from different Lebanese districts. The results indicated that the ICT implementation in physics courses was not attained. Physics teachers must improve their ICT skills. Moreover, the low technology periods per week and revealing curriculum content, inflexibility of the curriculum to ICT implementation, insufficient existence of computer labs, lack financial support, insufficient training, inadequate technical support, unavailability of internet connectivity and the crowded class rooms were main barriers that prevent the implementation of ICT

Assessment of Multi-Story Building Seismic Design Factors with Structural Irregularity

Many high-rise buildings are practically irregular as a result of the architectural and service requirements in the design process, errors and modification during the construction phase, and changes of the building use throughout its service life. Structural irregularities could increase the uncertainties related to the ability of the building to meet the design objectives. This study is thus devoted to assess the safety margins and calibrate the seismic design response factors of modern high-rise buildings with different vertical irregularity features. A brief survey of the most common vertical irregularities inn reinforced concrete multi-story buildings is conducted to select reference structures. Five 50-story high-rise buildings are then selected and fully designed using international building codes to represent well-designed tall buildings with principal vertical irregularity types. Fiber-based simulation models are developed to assess the seismic response of the five benchmark buildings under the effect of forty earthquake records representing far-field and near-field seismic scenarios. The comprehensive results obtained from inelastic pushover and incremental dynamic analyses are employed to provide insights into the local and global seismic response of the reference structures. The probabilistic vulnerability assessment of the five high-rise buildings is conducted at different limit states using fragility relationships. The study concluded that the seismic performance of well-designed regular and vertically irregular high-rise buildings is satisfactory under the design earthquake. Under severe earthquakes, the seismic response of tall buildings with extreme soft story and geometry irregularity is not inferior to that of the regular counterpart at different seismic performance levels. Despite the over strength factor adopted in the design of buildings with discontinuities in the lateral-force-resisting system and extreme weak story, the observed negative impacts of these irregularity categories on increasing the vulnerability of high-rise buildings are substantial. This confirms the pressing need for mitigation strategies to reduce the expected seismic losses of the latter classes of building. The calibration of seismic design response factors of the reference high-rise buildings also confirms that, although the code coefficients are adequately conservative, they can be revised to arrive at a more efficient and cost-effective design of regular and irregular high-rise building

Enhancing the mental image of the institution through modern packaging technics as a branch of the institutional identity

Visual identity has an important role regarding trade, industry and advertising nowadays, this is to be able to differentiate every service or product from its similar all over the world, in the era of information technology, international trade and widely spread advertising and because of the wide variety of brand names it became a necessity to have a clear visual identity which helps it have a clear mark in its customers minds in addition to expected customers too, so designers rely on building a specific visual identity through analyzing and creating a specific concept because building that specific concept can relate to a visual identity that can be part of special visual identity for a certain product or service, so it is crucial to know how to enhance the visual identity of an institution through modern technics of packaging being considered as one of the identity specifications of the institution, and because the number of researches handling this matter is scarce, this research aims at enhancing the mental image of the institution through modern packaging technics as one of the branches of the institution identity and to achieve this we elaborate (the concept of the mental image, its formed kinds towards institutions, what it consists of, its forming tools, steps of building it and the requirements for a successful formation of it) visual identity and its analysis through some models that can enhance the mental image of any institution (brand life cycle - AIDA model - Maslow's hierarchy of human needs - SWOT Analysis), Casting light over modern packaging technics as a branch of institutional identity after then we reach the complementary relation between these models and being able to use them in a way that enhances the mental image of the institution through database and analysis resulting from these models and advertising analysis in addition to using the complementary relation between them to keep clients loyal to the institution

Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 counteracts Botryosphaeria dieback in grapevine, triggering immune responses and detoxification of fungal phytotoxins

Plant pathogens have evolved various strategies to enter hosts and cause diseases. Particularly Neofusicoccum parvum, a member of Botryosphaeria dieback consortium, can secrete the phytotoxins (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein during grapevine colonization. The contribution of phytotoxins to Botryosphaeria dieback symptoms still remains unknown. Moreover, there are currently no efficient control strategies of this disease, and agro-environmental concerns have raised increasing interest in biocontrol strategies to limit disease spread in vineyards, especially by using some promising beneficial bacteria. Here, we first examined in planta the biocontrol capacity of Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 against N. parvum Np-Bt67 strain producing both (-)- terremutin and (R)-mellein. We then focused on the direct effects of PTA-271 on pathogen growth and the fate of pure phytotoxins, and explored the capacity of PTA- 271 to induce or prime grapevine immunity upon pathogen infection or phytotoxin exposure. Results provided evidence that PTA-271 significantly protects grapevine cuttings against N. parvum and significantly primes the expression of PR2 (encoding a β-1,3-glucanase) and NCED2 (9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase involved in abscisic acid biosynthesis) genes upon pathogen challenge. Using in vitro plantlets, we also showed that PTA-271 triggers the expression of salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-responsive genes, including GST1 (encoding a glutathione-S-transferase) involved in detoxification process. However, in PTA-271-pretreated plantlets, exogenous (-)-terremutin strongly lowered the expression of most of upregulated genes, except GST1. Data also indicated that PTA-271 can detoxify both (-)- terremutin and (R)-mellein and antagonize N. parvum under in vitro conditions. Our findings highlight (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein as key aggressive molecules produced by N. parvum that may weaken grapevine immunity to promote Botryosphaeria dieback symptoms. However, PTA-271 can efficiently attenuate Botryosphaeria dieback by enhancing some host immune responses and detoxifying both phytotoxins produced by N. parvum

Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 Counteracts Botryosphaeria Dieback in Grapevine, Triggering Immune Responses and Detoxification of Fungal Phytotoxins

Plant pathogens have evolved various strategies to enter hosts and cause diseases. Particularly Neofusicoccum parvum, a member of Botryosphaeria dieback consortium, can secrete the phytotoxins (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein during grapevine colonization. The contribution of phytotoxins to Botryosphaeria dieback symptoms still remains unknown. Moreover, there are currently no efficient control strategies of this disease, and agro-environmental concerns have raised increasing interest in biocontrol strategies to limit disease spread in vineyards, especially by using some promising beneficial bacteria. Here, we first examined in planta the biocontrol capacity of Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 against N. parvum Np-Bt67 strain producing both (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein. We then focused on the direct effects of PTA-271 on pathogen growth and the fate of pure phytotoxins, and explored the capacity of PTA-271 to induce or prime grapevine immunity upon pathogen infection or phytotoxin exposure. Results provided evidence that PTA-271 significantly protects grapevine cuttings against N. parvum and significantly primes the expression of PR2 (encoding a β-1,3-glucanase) and NCED2 (9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase involved in abscisic acid biosynthesis) genes upon pathogen challenge. Using in vitro plantlets, we also showed that PTA-271 triggers the expression of salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-responsive genes, including GST1 (encoding a glutathione-S-transferase) involved in detoxification process. However, in PTA-271-pretreated plantlets, exogenous (-)-terremutin strongly lowered the expression of most of upregulated genes, except GST1. Data also indicated that PTA-271 can detoxify both (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein and antagonize N. parvum under in vitro conditions. Our findings highlight (-)-terremutin and (R)-mellein as key aggressive molecules produced by N. parvum that may weaken grapevine immunity to promote Botryosphaeria dieback symptoms. However, PTA-271 can efficiently attenuate Botryosphaeria dieback by enhancing some host immune responses and detoxifying both phytotoxins produced by N. parvum

Defying role of specific microorganisms on efficiency of organic materials (olive pomace) on the growth and productivity of olive trees

This study has been carried out through three successive seasons (2012, 2013 and 2014) on 12 years old Manzanillo olive trees in a private orchard located at 50 km of Cairo – Alexandria road in north-west of Egypt. The main objective of this study was to improve the physical and chemical properties of olive pomace by adding microorganisms specific to phenolic substances, which leads to their disposal and suitability for cultivation. Two microorganisms (Trichoderma virdi and Pseudomonas fluorescens) were evaluated to determine their promoting effect on the growth and productivity of olive trees. The experiment consisted of 9 treatments, 2 trees per treatment replicated 3 times in a randomized block design. Data exerted that, the treatment with compost 50 % + Pomace 50 % + Pseudomonas fluorescens gave the highest fruit set (%), yield, remaining fruits and leaf nitrogen and potassium. While, using the compost 75% + pomace 25 % + Trichoderma virdi + Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded the highest number of leaves and inflorescence/meter.Conclusively, it could be recommended under the same conditions of this study, using pomace (olive mill wastes) at the rate of compost (Comp.) 50 % + Pomce (Pom.) 50 % + Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pseu.) to increase the productivity of Manzanillo olive trees

Learning with simulations: Influence of a computer simulation with hand- on activities on students' learning of the physics capacitors' concepts

The persistence of this study was to investigate the contribution of a computer simulation to students' learning of physics concepts (charging and discharging of capacitors). Interactive computer simulation (Crocodile simulation) was used to spread over the aim of this study. This attempt assesses the progress in understanding the concepts by grade 11 Scientific section after four complete periods (200 minutes) in two different situations: 1- using only a computer simulation; 2-using computer simulation with hands-on activities. The progress was measured through post-test. The results of both descriptive and inferential statistics show that the learners' understanding of capacitors' concepts that can be enhanced and were highly achieved when learners used the computer simulation combined with hands- on activities. The use of Hands-on activities was identified as the cause of this differentiation

Protective immune responses against Schistosoma mansoni infection by immunization with functionally active gut-derived cysteine peptidases alone and in combination with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase

© 2017 Tallima et al. Background: Schistosomiasis, a severe disease caused by parasites of the genus Schistosoma, is prevalent in 74 countries, affecting more than 250 million people, particularly children. We have previously shown that the Schistosoma mansoni gut-derived cysteine peptidase, cathepsin B1 (SmCB1), administered without adjuvant, elicits protection (>60%) against challenge infection of S. mansoni or S. haematobium in outbred, CD-1 mice. Here we compare the immunogenicity and protective potential of another gut-derived cysteine peptidase, S. mansoni cathepsin L3 (SmCL3), alone, and in combination with SmCB1. We also examined whether protective responses could be boosted by including a third non-peptidase schistosome secreted molecule, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (SG3PDH), with the two peptidases. Methodology/Principal findings: While adjuvant-free SmCB1 and SmCL3 induced type 2 polarized responses in CD-1 outbred mice those elicited by SmCL3 were far weaker than those induced by SmCB1. Nevertheless, both cysteine peptidases evoked highly significant (P < 0.005) reduction in challenge worm burden (54–65%) as well as worm egg counts and viability. A combination of SmCL3 and SmCB1 did not induce significantly stronger immune responses or higher protection than that achieved using each peptidase alone. However, when the two peptidases were combined with SG3PDH the levels of protection against challenge S. mansoni infection reached 70–76% and were accompanied by highly significant (P < 0.005) decreases in worm egg counts and viability. Similarly, high levels of protection were achieved in hamsters immunized with the cysteine peptidase/SG3PDH-based vaccine. Conclusions/Significance: Gut-derived cysteine peptidases are highly protective against schistosome challenge infection when administered subcutaneously without adjuvant to outbred CD-1 mice and hamsters, and can also act to enhance the efficacy of other schistosome antigens, such as SG3PDH. This cysteine peptidase-based vaccine should now be advanced to experiments in non-human primates and, if shown promise, progressed to Phase 1 safety trials in humans