In vitro propagation of Rosa hybrida L. cv. Al-Taif Rose plant

In this study, a protocol for in vitro propagation of Rosa hybrida L. cv. Al-Taif Rose was established using nodal segments harboring axillary buds as explants. In vitro stages of shoot initiation, multiplication and elongation were performed. Explants were cultured on solid Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with different concentrations of benzyl aminopurine (BAP, 1, 2 and 3 mg/l) in combination with 1 mg/l kinetin (Kn). Effect of different concentrations and combinations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on root formation of shoots were studied. The highest percentage of shoot initiation (85%) was observed on MS medium containing 2 mg/l BAP + 1 mg/l Kn, whereas maximum average number of multiplied shoots (2.7) was produced on MS medium with 3 mg/l BAP + 1 mg/l Kn. Highest average number of elongated shoots (26.7) was noticed on MS medium containing 1 mg/l BAP and 1 mg/l Kn. For rooting, highest percentage (66.7%) of rooted shoots was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l IBA. Plantlets with 4 to 5 roots of 3 to 5 cm length were successfully transferred to pots containing sterile peat moss for acclimatization.Keywords: Rosa hybrid L. cv. Al-Taif Rose, axillary bud explants, in vitro propagation, multiplication, acclimatizatio

PyOED: An Extensible Suite for Data Assimilation and Model-Constrained Optimal Design of Experiments

This paper describes the first version (v1.0) of PyOED, a highly extensible scientific package that enables developing and testing model-constrained optimal experimental design (OED) for inverse problems. Specifically, PyOED aims to be a comprehensive Python toolkit for model-constrained OED. The package targets scientists and researchers interested in understanding the details of OED formulations and approaches. It is also meant to enable researchers to experiment with standard and innovative OED technologies with a wide range of test problems (e.g., simulation models). Thus, PyOED is continuously being expanded with a plethora of Bayesian inversion, DA, and OED methods as well as new scientific simulation models, observation error models, and observation operators. These pieces are added such that they can be permuted to enable testing OED methods in various settings of varying complexities. The PyOED core is completely written in Python and utilizes the inherent object-oriented capabilities; however, the current version of PyOED is meant to be extensible rather than scalable. Specifically, PyOED is developed to ``enable rapid development and benchmarking of OED methods with minimal coding effort and to maximize code reutilization.'' PyOED will be continuously expanded with a plethora of Bayesian inversion, DA, and OED methods as well as new scientific simulation models, observation error models, and observation operators. This paper provides a brief description of the PyOED layout and philosophy and provides a set of exemplary test cases and tutorials to demonstrate how the package can be utilized.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, 21 code snippet

Urban Metabolism and Quality of Life in Informal Areas

The 21st century is known as the century of urbanization. Numerous debates are currently taking place to definecities and what they should aspire to be. A number of terms have appeared in this arena,such as sustainable city, eco-city and green city to name a few. However, the main question remains how to measure the performance of a city in regards tothese aims. In addition, it is vital to note that major urbanization activities take part in cities of the developing world, where informalization is synonym to urbanization, thus necessitating a profound study of informal areas and their potential role in achieving sustainable cities. This paper studies how acity performs in terms of consuming and producing resources and how they flow through its various systems, described as urban metabolism. The paper particularly discusses how informal areas perform regarding their metabolism, focusing on water flow through these areas as a priority identified by the residents. Imbaba district, one of the largest informal areas in Cairo, is investigated as a case study to determine the actual quality of life of local residents and their ecological footprint and to providepractical insights. The whole process depends on a multidisciplinary participatory research where the citizens and local community based organization are the focal point. In addition, the process depends on open source data and data sharing as a way to empower local communities to identify their needs and issues and hence their appropriate interventions. This is conducted through questionnaires and interviews to identify what the current conditions and processes in informal areas provide for the residents. The paper concludes with identifying points of leakages in the resources flows and the possible interventions to improve the quality of life in the area while maintaining an efficient use of local resources and minimizing the impact of urbanization of the ecological footprint of cities. This will assist cities to become more resilient in the face of water scarcity, and provide a more vibrant life for its residents

Patient reported frequency of lupus flare: associations with foundation makeup and sunscreen use

Objective: To test the hypothesis that usage of foundation makeup (FM) and sunscreen lotion (SS), used individually or in combination, is associated with significant changes in the likelihood of lupus symptom exacerbation. Methods: Self-reported flare days (SRF) and use of FM and SS products, were retrospectively examined in 80 Caucasian Australian women with ACR classified SLE for a year. Negative binomial regression modelled SRF days (outcome) against independent FMSS variable and covariates: age; diagnosis years; outdoor hours; BMI; stress; immune therapy medication (ITM) use. Results: Statistically significant inverse associations between SRF days and FMSS use were found. Protective effects were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for combined FMSS exposure days (OR 0.998, CI 0.997 - 1.0) and FM alone (OR 0.603, CI 0.363 - 1.0). Significant associations consistent with increased SRF risk were seen in sub-analysis models for participants taking ITM: univariate model (OR 1.968, p = 0.03); multivariate model for FMSS (OR 2.11, CI 1.161 - 3.835); FM days (OR 1.855, CI 1.023 - 3.364). Results show SRF day reduction of 0.15% for each day of product exposure. Conclusion: Study results highlight protective effects of wearing FM with or without SS. This reduction in flare days ultimately has potential to improve quality of life in SLE patients

Early decision support for net zero energy buildings design using building performance simulation

This paper aims to investigate the use of building performance simulation tools as a method of informing the design decision of NZEBs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a simulation-based decision aid, ZEBO, on informed decision-making using sensitivity analysis. The objective is to assess the effect of ZEBO and other BPS tools on three specific outcomes: (i) knowledge and satisfaction when using simulation for NZEB design; (ii) users’ decision-making attitudes and patterns, and (iii) performance robustness based on an energy analysis. The paper utilizes three design case studies comprising a framework to test the use of BPS tools. Two types of data were collected, mainly preference and performance data. The preference data were used to collect information from participants using self-reported metrics. The performance data were used to collect information on the energy performance of the final design. The energy evaluations were compared with the results of a quantitative assessment of the overall design performance. Finally the results were compared and presented. The paper provides results that shed light on the effectiveness of sensitivity analysis as an approach for informing the design decisions of NZEBs

Vibrations analysis of ruptured pipe conveying pulsating fluid flow and supported by a magnetorheological damper

The study presented in this paper deals with the dynamics of a straight supported pipe conveying a harmonically pulsating incompressible fluid flow. It is assumed that the motion is planer and the pipe is normally horizontal, and there is a leakage from the pipe at a certain point and this leakage causes a repeated impulse forces acting on the pipe response. The pipe is fixed by two identical supports of three different types chosen for the sake of comparison. The first two supports are rigid, the second two are of conventional flexible type and are represented by springs and dampers while the third two supports are of Magnetorheological type and are represented by MR dampers. The variation of flow velocity and fluid pressure along the pipe is taken into consideration. The effect of leakage position and its amount on the dynamic performance and vibrations of the pipe is studied. The detection of leak location along the pipe is studied numerically using the spectrum analysis. The influence of supporting type and pulsating frequency on the pipe response is investigated. The effect of input voltage to the MR damper is also taken into consideration

Palm oil formulation as 34 % mayonnaise and evaluation of its biological efficacy against citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri under laboratory and field conditions

The use of environmentally friendly pesticides using palm oil derivatives as palm oil methyl ester (PME) carrier solvents has been reported. PME-based glyphosate isopropylamine nanoemulsion in the water against weeds has been the subject of numerous studies as well as palm oil methyl ester molluscicidal against golden apple snails. This study's major goal was to formulate palm oil in an appropriate formulation form and assess its insecticidal effectiveness against citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri. Palm oil was formulated as 34% oil in water emulsion (O/W) (mayonnaise). The new mayonnaise formulation successfully passed all physical and chemical testing requirements set out by pesticide organizations for (O/W) emulsions. Under laboratory conditions, it was biologically evaluated against nymphs and adults of the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, with serial concentrations. It had considerable insecticidal activity against all study stages, although the impact on nymphs was significantly greater than that on adults. This was evident from its LC50 values, which were 53.52 and 58.58 mg/ml for nymphs and adults, respectively. The citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, in its adult, nymphs, and gravid stages, was tested using the new palm oil 34% mayonnaise formulation in the field. The highest mortality percentages were seen in the nymphs, followed by adults and then the gravid stage. After additional research, the newly developed palm oil formula might be employed to combat the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri

Empowering Distributed Decision Making in Smart Grid:Secure Communication and Data Management for Edge Computing

In response to the challenges associated with the adoption of distributed decision-making systems (DDMS) in the context of modern power grids, particularly concerning the integration of distributed energy resources (DER) and increasing demand, this research introduces an innovative framework grounded in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The proposed framework aims to enhance DDMS by incorporating secure and standardized edge computing to streamline data retrieval and local computation, thereby achieving optimal efficiency. Through authentication, authorization, and data loss prevention measures, the proposed framework guarantees a secure data exchange. In addition, it integrates the Common Information Model (CIM) and an ontology to standardize the flow of data, improving interoperability in heterogeneous systems. This study provides a concise overview of the proposed architecture, emphasizing its adaptability and efficiency in addressing contemporary issues in DDMS. In addition, an illustrative use case will be investigated to demonstrate the potential of the proposed architecture and its intricate interactions

Empowering Distributed Decision Making in Smart Grid:Secure Communication and Data Management for Edge Computing

In response to the challenges associated with the adoption of distributed decision-making systems (DDMS) in the context of modern power grids, particularly concerning the integration of distributed energy resources (DER) and increasing demand, this research introduces an innovative framework grounded in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The proposed framework aims to enhance DDMS by incorporating secure and standardized edge computing to streamline data retrieval and local computation, thereby achieving optimal efficiency. Through authentication, authorization, and data loss prevention measures, the proposed framework guarantees a secure data exchange. In addition, it integrates the Common Information Model (CIM) and an ontology to standardize the flow of data, improving interoperability in heterogeneous systems. This study provides a concise overview of the proposed architecture, emphasizing its adaptability and efficiency in addressing contemporary issues in DDMS. In addition, an illustrative use case will be investigated to demonstrate the potential of the proposed architecture and its intricate interactions