A study of the manuscript Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb, by Shaydhala (12th century): author, methodology and investigation strategies

هذه الدراسة تركز على تحليل مخطوطة "لوامع أنوار القلوب فى جوامع أسرار المحب والمحبوب" للفقيه الشافعي أبو المعالى عزيزي بن عبد الملك بن منصور الجيلي، المعروف بشَيذَلَة (القرن الثانى عشر الميلادى). هذه المخطوطة غير المنشورة والتى تتكون من عشرة فصول يجب تصنيفها فى الأدب العربى فى العصور الوسطى ضمن كتب الصوفية,فبعد دراسة البنية الداخلية للمخطوطة ,والترجمة للمؤلف وظروف حياته والتعرف على أسلوبه؛ تبيَّن أنَّ هذا العمل يركز بشكل أساسي على اللغة والمصطلحات والموضوعات والعناصر والسمات الممي زة لهذا النوع من الجنس الأدبى القاصد لوصف الحب الإلهي ,ومن بين هذه المسائل وغيرها؛ نستنتج أ ن هذه المخطوطة تُش كل حلقةً أخرى فى سلسلة كتب الأدب الصوفي الذى يقود إلى معانى الرقة المفرطة ,والمتعة,والمؤانسة,والنورانية ,والتقارب بين المرء وخالقه.Este estudio se centra en el análisis del manuscrito Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb fī ŷawāmi‘ asrār al-muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb (El brillo de las luces de los corazones en en el conjunto de los secretos del amante y el amado), del jurista šafi‘ī Abū l-Ma‘ālī ‘Azīzī b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Manṣūr al-Ŷīlī, conocido como Šaydala (s. XII). Se trata de una obra inédita, de diez capítulos, que debe ser clasificada entre los libros de sufismo de la literatu-ra árabe medieval. Tras estudiar la estructura interna del manuscrito, al autor y su contexto, este trabajo se centra principalmente en el lenguaje, la terminología, los temas y los ele-mentos característicos de este tipo de género literario destinado a describir el amor divino. Entre otras cuestiones, se llega a la conclusión de que este manuscrito constituye un esla-bón más de la serie de libros de literatura sufí que apuntan al refinamiento, disfrute, socia-bilidad, iluminación y convergencia entre el hombre y su creador.This study analyzes the manuscript Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb fī jawāmi‘ asrār al-muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb (The brilliance of the lights of hearts in the series of secrets known by the lover and the beloved), by the jurist shafi‘ī Abū l-Ma‘ālī ‘Azīzī b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Manṣūr al-Jīlī, known as Shaydhala (12th century). The manuscript is of an un-published work of ten chapters that must be classified alongside the Sufism books of me-dieval Arabic literature. After studying the work's internal structure, author and context, attention is given to the language, terminology, themes and the elements characteristic of this literary genre, the purpose of which was to describe divine love. Among other ques-tions, the paper reaches the conclusion that this manuscript represents yet another link in the series of books in Sufi literature that point to the refinement, enjoyment, sociability, enlightenment and convergence between man and his creator

A dynamic perfusion based blood-brain barrier model for cytotoxicity testing and drug permeation

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) serves to protect and regulate the CNS microenvironment. The development of an in-vitro mimic of the BBB requires recapitulating the correct phenotype of the in-vivo BBB, particularly for drug permeation studies. However the majority of widely used BBB models demonstrate low transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and poor BBB phenotype. The application of shear stress is known to enhance tight junction formation and hence improve the barrier function. We utilised a high TEER primary porcine brain microvascular endothelial cell (PBMEC) culture to assess the impact of shear stress on barrier formation using the Kirkstall QuasiVivo 600 (QV600) multi-chamber perfusion system. The application of shear stress resulted in a reorientation and enhancement of tight junction formation on both coverslip and permeable inserts, in addition to enhancing and maintaining TEER for longer, when compared to static conditions. Furthermore, the functional consequences of this was demonstrated with the reduction in flux of mitoxantrone across PBMEC monolayers. The QV600 perfusion system may service as a viable tool to enhance and maintain the high TEER PBMEC system for use in in-vitro BBB models

Solar Energy Conversion and Storage: Rose Bengal-Triton X-100 by Photogalvanic Cell

Photogalvanic cells are photoelectrochemical devices involving ions as mobile charges moving in solution through diffusion process. These cells are capable of solar power generation at low cost with inherent storage capacity. This property of photogalvanic cell needs to be exploited as this technology is cleaner and promising for application in daily life. In our work, Rose Bengal is used as photosensitizer with oxalic acid as reductant and triton as surfactant for photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. The photopotential and photocurrent generated were 289.0 mV and 29.1 µA, respectively. The maximum power of the cell was 8.409 µW. The observed conversion efficiency was 0.023 % and fill factor was determined as 0.293 against the maximum theoretical value 1.0. The photogalvanic cell can work for 45.0 min in dark after irradiation for 21.0 min, i.e. the storage capacity of the photogalvanic cell is 45 min. The effect of different parameters on electrical output of the cell was studied and a mechanism has also been proposed for the generation of photocurrent in photogalvanic cell. Keywords: Rose Bengal; Oxalic acid; Triton; Conversion efficiency; Storage capacity; Photocurrent

The role of hematite in aluminosilicate gels based on metakaolin

International audienceThis paper investigates the role of iron oxide in natural clay and its contribution to polycondensation reactions. Iron oxide was added to pure kaolin in the same proportion as Medenine clay with different amounts of potassium hydroxide. The physicochemical and structural properties of these materials were determined by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analyses (DTA-TG) and X-ray diffraction. The amorphous character seen in the diffractograms obtained from the materials and the displacement of the IR wavenumber are indicative of a polycondensation reaction. The representative characterization of the microstructure of different samples using electron microscopy highlights the nonreactivity of iron exhibited during consolidation. In general, the contribution of iron oxide seems to be small under the conditions described here

Estudio del manuscrito Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb de Šaydala (s. XII): el autor, la metodología y las estrategias de investigación

This study analyzes the manuscript Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb fī jawāmi‘ asrār al-muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb (The brilliance of the lights of hearts in the series of secrets known by the lover and the beloved), by the jurist shafi‘ī Abū l-Ma‘ālī ‘Azīzī b. ‘Abd al- Malik b. Manṣūr al-Jīlī, known as Shaydhala (12th century). The manuscript is of an un- published work of ten chapters that must be classified alongside the Sufism books of me- dieval Arabic literature. After studying the work's internal structure, author and context, attention is given to the language, terminology, themes and the elements characteristic of this literary genre, the purpose of which was to describe divine love. Among other ques- tions, the paper reaches the conclusion that this manuscript represents yet another link in the series of books in Sufi literature that point to the refinement, enjoyment, sociability, enlightenment and convergence between man and his creator.Este estudio se centra en el análisis del manuscrito Lawāmi‘ al-anwār al-qulūb fī ŷawāmi‘ asrār al-muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb (El brillo de las luces de los corazones en en el conjunto de los secretos del amante y el amado), del jurista šafi‘ī Abū l-Ma‘ālī ‘Azīzī b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Manṣūr al-Ŷīlī, conocido como Šaydala (s. XII). Se trata de una obra inédita, de diez capítulos, que debe ser clasificada entre los libros de sufismo de la literatu- ra árabe medieval. Tras estudiar la estructura interna del manuscrito, al autor y su contexto, este trabajo se centra principalmente en el lenguaje, la terminología, los temas y los ele- mentos característicos de este tipo de género literario destinado a describir el amor divino. Entre otras cuestiones, se llega a la conclusión de que este manuscrito constituye un esla- bón más de la serie de libros de literatura sufí que apuntan al refinamiento, disfrute, sociabilidad, iluminación y convergencia entre el hombre y su creador

Psychometric Properties of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale-DIDS in Gulf Environment on a Sample of Students from Sultan Qaboos University and Kuwait University

The present study aimed to identify the nature of the psychometric properties of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS). The DIDS consists of five dimensions: commitment making, exploration in breadth, ruminative exploration, identification with commitment and exploration in depth. The sample of the study consisted of 200 male and female students from Sultan Qaboos University, and Kuwait University. To answer the questions of the study, the psychometric properties of the (DIDS) was verified by two methods: internal consistency and convergent validity. Its reliability was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. Alphas ranged between 0.78 and 0.91 for the Kuwaiti sample, and between 0.59 and 0.86 for the Omani sample. The results showed that acceptable validity and reliability indicators characterized the scale. The study concluded with a set of recommendations and suggestions

Evaluation of Effectiveness between Two Different Facilities for Drinking Water Having Different Water Sources for Removal of Free-Living Amoeba in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt

Background: Conventional drinking water treatment plants (CDWTPs) and Ground water (GWTP) are the main 2 types of drinking water treatment using freshwater as a source for drinking water in Egypt. Objective: The Egyptian standards for drinking water denied the presence of any type of living protozoa in drinking water produced for human use. Martials and methods: 48 water bodies were selected from Benha and Kaha districts in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. Mean turbidity, pH, conductivity, temperature, ammonia, nitrite, iron, manganese, magnesium and residual chlorine were recorded in each water body from two sites. Centrifuged samples were cultured on non-nutrient agar plates with Escherichia coli. Positive sample isolates were subjected to DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction using genus and speciesspecific primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and Mp2CL5 gene. Results: The prevalence of Naegleria species, N. fowleri and Acanthamoeba in the study area were 54.1% and 0% (N. fowleri and Acanthamoeba) of all sample examined. The removal of free-living amoebae from drinking water, it was shown that conventional DWTP (Benha) could get rid of 91% of FLAs present in the raw untreated water, while ground DWTP removed only 55.6% of these organisms. Conclusions: The conventional drinking water treatment system for surface water was better than that of only chlorine disinfection for ground water in removing free-living amoeba (FLAs). In general, the persistence of FLAs in drinking tap water unfortunately exerts public health hazards

The Effect of Electrospinning Parameters on Morphological and Mechanical Properties of PAN-based Nanofibers Membrane

The electrospun nanofibers membranes (ENMs) have gained great attention due to their superior performance. However, the low mechanical strength of ENMs, such as the rigidity and low strength, limits their applications in many aspects which need adequate strength, such as water filtration. This work investigates the impact of electrospinning parameters on the properties of ENMs fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solved in N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). The studied electrospinning parameters were polymer concentration, solution flow rate, collector rotating speed, and the distance between the needle and collector. The fabricated ENMs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the surface morphology and estimate the average fiber sizes. The membrane porosity percentage was measured using the dry-wet weight method. Also, a dynamic mechanical analyzer was used to determine the mechanical strength properties (tensile strength and Young's modulus) (DMA). The obtained results revealed that the polymer concentration and flow rate mainly affect the porosity and fiber size in ENMs. Increasing the polymer concentration improves the strength and flexibility, while the flow rate did not show a clear effect on the mechanical strength of ENMs. Both fibers collecting speed and spinning distance did not clearly impact the membrane morphology. ENMs flexibility significantly increased with increasing the collector speed and decreasing the spinning distance. Strong and flexible ENMs with small fibers can be fabricated using 10% PAN/DMF at a flow rate of 1 mL/h, collector speed of 140 rpm, and spinning distance of 13 cm

Towards a Systems Approach in the Genetic Analysis of Archaea: Accelerating Mutant Construction and Phenotypic Analysis in Haloferax volcanii

With the availability of a genome sequence and increasingly sophisticated genetic tools, Haloferax volcanii is becoming a model for both Archaea and halophiles. In order for H. volcanii to reach a status equivalent to Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a gene knockout collection needs to be constructed in order to identify the archaeal essential gene set and enable systematic phenotype screens. A streamlined gene-deletion protocol adapted for potential automation was implemented and used to generate 22 H. volcanii deletion strains and identify several potentially essential genes. These gene deletion mutants, generated in this and previous studies, were then analyzed in a high-throughput fashion to measure growth rates in different media and temperature conditions. We conclude that these high-throughput methods are suitable for a rapid investigation of an H. volcanii mutant library and suggest that they should form the basis of a larger genome-wide experiment