Theory of nuclear spin conversion in ethylene

First theoretical analysis of the nuclear spin conversion in ethylene molecules (13^CCH4) has been performed. The conversion rate was found equal approx. 3x10^{-4} 1/s*Torr, which is in qualitative agreement with the recently obtained experimental value. It was shown that the ortho-para mixing in 13^CCH4 is dominated by the spin-rotation coupling. Mixing of only two pairs of ortho-para levels were found to contribute significantly to the spin conversion.Comment: 20 pages, 5 eps figure

Sect and House in Syria: History, Architecture, and Bayt Amongst the Druze in Jaramana

This paper explores the connections between the architecture and materiality of houses and the social idiom of bayt (house, family). The ethnographic exploration is located in the Druze village of Jaramana, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. It traces the histories, genealogies, and politics of two families, bayt Abud-Haddad and bayt Ouward, through their houses. By exploring the two families and the architecture of their houses, this paper provides a detailed ethnographic account of historical change in modern Syria, internal diversity, and stratification within the intimate social fabric of the Druze neighbourhood at a time of war, and contributes a relational approach to the anthropological understanding of houses

Fragmented in space: the oral history narrative of an Arab Christian from Antioch, Turkey

This study uses the case of Can Kılçıksız, an Arab Christian refugee youth from Antioch, Turkey, to argue that globalization may result in fragmented families and subjectivities and can also accelerate processes initiated by modernity and the construction of national identities. Can Kılçıksız and his siblings now live in Turkey, Germany, France and Finland. His life story suggests that males of Arab Christian origin from Antioch who had access to schooling are more likely to be involved in politics whereas females tend to be drawn to evangelical Christian organizations. The case also suggests that sibling ties might prove more durable in the course of transnational migration than conjugal ties. The case of Can Kılçıksız shows that the time/space linked to childhood through memory can play an important role in identity construction of subjects circulating in transnational space

Optimization of self-nanoemulsifying formulations for weakly basic lipophilic drugs: role of acidification and experimental design

ABSTRACT Formulators face great challenges in adopting systematic approaches for designing self-nanoemulsifying formulations (SNEFs) for different drug categories. In this study, we aimed to build-up an advanced SNEF development framework for weakly basic lipophilic drugs, such as cinnarizine (CN). First, the influence of formulation acidification on CN solubility was investigated. Second, formulation self-emulsification in media with different pH was assessed. Experimentally designed phase diagrams were also utilized for advanced optimization of CN-SNEF. Finally, the optimized formulation was examined using cross polarizing light microscopy for the presence of liquid crystals. CN solubility was significantly enhanced upon external and internal acidification. Among the various fatty acids, oleic acid-based formulations showed superior self-emulsification in all the tested media. Surprisingly, formulation turbidity and droplet size significantly decreased upon equilibration with CN. The design was validated using oleic acid/Imwitor308/Cremophor El (25/25/50), which showed excellent self-nanoemulsification, 43-nm droplet size (for CN-equilibrated formulations), and 88 mg/g CN solubility. In contrast to CN-free formulations, CN-loaded SNEF presented lamellar liquid crystals upon 50% aqueous dilution. These findings confirmed that CN-SNEF efficiency was greatly enhanced upon drug incorporation. The adopted strategy offers fast and accurate development of SNEFs and could be extrapolated for other weakly basic lipophilic drugs

A cross dialectal view of the Arabic dative alternation

This paper is concerned with the syntax of ditransitive verbs in Arabic.We concentrate on the vernaculars, focussing in particular on three geographically spread dialects: Egyptian Cairene Arabic, the dominant vernacular in Egypt, Hijazi Arabic, spoken in Western Saudi Arabia and Maltese, a mixed language with a Magrebi/Siculo-Arabic stratum. We show that all three exhibit an alternation (the dative alternation) between a ditransitive ('double object') construction and a corresponding prepositional dative construction, and outline a number of differences between these constructions in the different varieties of Arabic. We consider the distribution of verbs exhibiting the dative alternation in the light of Ryding's (2011) observations concerning Modern Standard Arabic