'System of Settings' As A Tool of Assessing Users' Satisfaction Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt

Being one of the most overpopulated and overcrowded cities in the world, Cairo suffers a significant lack of public open spaces. Therefore, the state adopted a policy considering the expansion of public open spaces. One such open space is Al-Azhar Park, the initiative of which was embarked and implemented by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The park is located at the eastern part of medieval Cairo, commanding panoramic views of the city. It is advocated that parks play an important role in the social and personal wellbeing of the city’s residents. This takes place at multiple layers, be it the socio-cultural subjective values or the tangible objective components. The current research examines the extent to which users’ satisfaction is fulfilled in Al-Azhar Park. If successful, this contributes to the better of the social and personal wellbeing of Cairo’s residents. To examine such understanding, the research employs Rapoport’s holistic approach of ‘System of Settings’, comprising ‘System of Activities’ and ‘Types of Feature Elements’. In conclusion, the study realizes that the park is meeting the users’ expectations. Keywords: System of settings; System of activities / Activity system model; Types of feature elements; Al- Azhar Park

Comparison of three types of physical aspects of a carbonated hydroxyapatite biomaterial: Study implantaion in vivo in rats of "Wistar" strain and physiological & physicochemical explorations

Currently, research on biomaterials must meet and demonstrate a set of therapeutic competence to level many health problems. The objective of our work is to normalize the technique of implantation of the biomaterial (carbonated hydroxyapatite: HAC). Three modes subcutaneous implantation was carried out. This technique consists to select the most tolerated by the body without toxicity. Thus, we have applied our biomaterial (HAC) in pellet form under pressure, under pressure sintering pellets and capsules for two weeks. Our results showed that the capsule did not disturb and mainted the equilibrium and balance or ferric ion phosphate balance, prevent against the toxicity of hepato-renal system by comparison with the pellets. These results demonstrated the tolerance, the biocompatibility and the integrity of apatite administered in capsule

Protective Role of Ficus carica Stem Extract against Hepatic Oxidative Damage Induced by Methanol in Male Wistar Rats

The present study was aimed to investigate the antioxidant activity of Ficus carica stem extract (FE) in methanol-induced hepatotoxicity in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into two batches: 16 control rats (C) drinking tap water and 16 treated rats drinking Ficus carica stem extract for six weeks. Then, each group was divided into two subgroups, and one of them was intraperitoneally injected (i.p.) daily methanol at a dose of 2.37 g/kg body weight i.p. for 30 days, for four weeks. The results showed that FE was found to contain large amounts of polyphenols and carotenoids. The treatment with methanol exhibited a significant increase of serum hepatic biochemical parameters (ALT, AST, ALP, and LDH) and hepatic lipid peroxidation. Hepatic antioxidant enzymes, namely, SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px, were significantly decreased in methanol-treated animals. FE treatment prior to methanol intoxication has significant role in protecting animals from methanol-induced hepatic oxidative damage

A structuralist approach to the study of the mosque: with reference to Cairo, Egypt.

The mosque plays an important role in nurturing the spiritual, intellectual and social aspects of the Muslim societies. It embraces these aspects not only as a building, but also as an institution considered by this study as a holistic system, which comprises subjective values and objective components. The mosque's responses to the ever evolving pressures facing Muslims have always been expressed through its ability to support the transformation of the social and cultural forces. The main contribution of this research is to introduce a new method of understanding the mosque and its role.The research adopted an approach which extended the General Systems Theory to the Theory of Structuralism, being a holistic epistemology that recognises the element of time in responding to the dynamic nature of the mosque. To implement this approach, a number of structuralism concepts are utilised, e.g. transformation, synchronic /diachronic views, surface structure /deep structure and the laws of composition underlying the concept of genotype /phenotype.Both methods of deduction and induction are used with the aim of building such understanding. The first part sets the theoretical model in two chapters. The first chapter learns from theories of Holism, General Systems Theory and Structuralism while the second introduces Islam as religion and addresses its principles and cultural values. Both chapters build the theoretical approach that is implemented to guide the research towards achieving its aims and objectives.The second part studies the mosque in the light of the theoretical model of part one, with particular reference to Cairo, the case study of the research. This is taking place into two chapters. The first explores into the origins of the mosque, studying its subjective and objective aspects at architectural and urban levels. The second chapter traces the transformation of these aspects within the Cairene Muslim society, through different historical eras.The third part of this research is inductive, and is dedicated to the empirical examination. The main objective of this part is to test people's perception of the role of the Cairene mosque, in the light of the studied theories. A qualitative open -ended questionnaire is designed, distributed, collected and analysed to accomplish this goal.The findings of the research emerge from both its theoretical and empirical aspects. Theoretically the findings are based on the philosophical discourse and Islamic principles. Empirically, the findings come from the open -ended survey. Therefore, the conclusion responded to the aim of the research in finding method of understanding the mosque and its role as an institution in nurturing all aspects of Muslim society; following its social transformation and maintaining its rules of composition. The genotype provides a set of rules controlling the reproduction of the mosque as an institution. The rules that form the genotype of the mosque relate to a hierarchy of three levels of forces underlying its designs. These are the eternal unchangeable principles, symbolic meanings and contextual transformations. These forces contribute to the genotype of the mosque to different degrees. The formulated structuralist model could be applied to other mosques elsewhere

Mapping quantitative trait loci for bread making quality and agronomic traits in winter wheat under different soil moisture levels

2010 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Drought is a major abiotic stress that affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in many regions of the world. Identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling important traits such as quality and yield components in winter wheat under reduced soil moisture may help develop cultivars improved for those traits. Our main objective was to identify QTL affecting quality and agronomic traits under fully irrigated and reduced soil moisture conditions. A population of 185 doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from a cross between CO940610 and 'Platte' was grown in replicated field trials in Fort Collins and Greeley, Colorado, USA in 2007-08 and 2008-09. At each location, two side-by-side trials were planted; one trial was grown under moderate moisture stress ("dry") and one under fully irrigated ("wet") conditions, for a total of four environments. Fifteen quality traits were evaluated under both irrigation treatments: mixograph parameters, single kernel characteristics, polyphenol oxidase activity, and flour color. Seventeen agronomic traits comprising phenological parameters, morphological traits, yield and yield components, pre-harvest sprouting, normalized difference vegetation index, and drought susceptibility index were evaluated. Moderate to high heritability estimates were observed for most of the quality traits, indicating that a large part of the expression of these traits is genetically controlled. Heritability of yield-related traits was low to moderate indicating the greater effect of environmental conditions on these traits. Moisture stress affected most of the quality and agronomic traits. Grain yield was reduced by 795.8 kg ha-1 (21.4%) at Fort Collins, and by 704.0 kg ha-1 (18.7%) at Greeley in the dry treatments. All kernel characteristics (kernel weight, kernel diameter, and kernel hardness), test weight, and grain protein concentration had higher mean values (P<0.05) under limited irrigation compared to the full irrigation treatments in both years. Thirty-one linkage groups spanning 2,083 cM and covering the 21 chromosomes were constructed from 221 microsatellite, diversity array technology, sequence-tagged-site, and protein markers. The composite interval mapping option of QTL Cartographer software was used in a genome-wide scan to estimate the location and effect of QTL associated with the evaluated traits. A total of 251 QTL were identified on 25 linkage groups representing 19 chromosomes. Individually, the QTL explained from 3.7 to 68.4% of the phenotypic variation, and when combined in multiple-locus models for a given trait and environment, they accounted for up to 73.8% of the phenotypic variation. Regions on chromosomes 1A, 2B, 6A, 7B, and 7D contained QTL for multiple traits. The QTL clusters on linkage groups 2B.1 and 7D.2 seem likely to coincide with the photoperiod response gene Ppd-B1 and vernalization locus Vrn-D3. Genomic regions on chromosomes 1AL, 1BL, 1DL, and 7BS contained QTLs for multiple bread making quality traits. The 1AL, 1BL, and 1DL QTL most likely indicate the effects of the Glu-A1, Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 loci. The 7BS QTL region may reflect a novel quality locus or loci. The co-localization of QTL for multiple quality traits suggests that the effects may be due to pleiotropy. Distribution of QTL for quality traits was relatively balanced between irrigation treatments; 67 QTL (54.7%) were detected under full irrigation and 56 QTL (45.5%) were identified under limited irrigation. For agronomic traits, 64 QTL (50.0%) were detected under full irrigation and 62 (48.4%) under limited irrigation. In general, the same QTL for most of the quality and agronomic traits were detected in both soil moisture levels. This indicates that the same set of genes controls these traits regardless of the degree of moisture, at least within the range of moisture sampled in this study. This finding is convenient for wheat breeders, who do not need to modify their selection schemes based on the moisture stress of target environments. Colocalized QTL for grain yield in the dry treatment and drought susceptibility index were identified on chromosomes 5B and 7B at Greeley. These regions deserve additional attention to determine the basis of these drought-adaptive traits. After validation, the identified QTL may facilitate marker assisted breeding strategies or high resolution mapping leading to map-based cloning for the benefit of winter wheat breeding programs

Biological therapy of strontium-substituted bioglass for soft tissue wound-healing: Responses to oxidative stress in ovariectomised rats.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest concerning this article.International audienceNew synthetic biomaterials are constantly being developed for wound repair and regeneration. Bioactive glasses (BG) containing strontium have shown successful applications in tissue engineering account of their biocompatibility and the positive biological effects after implantation. This study aimed to assess whether BG-Sr was accepted by the host tissue and to characterize oxidative stress biomarker and antioxidant enzyme profiles during muscle and skin healing. Wistar rats were divided into five groups (six animals per group): the group (I) was used as negative control (T), after ovariectomy, groups II, III, IV and V were used respectively as positive control (OVX), implanted tissue with BG (OVX-BG), BG-Sr (OVX-BG-Sr) and presented empty defects (OVX-NI). Soft tissues surrounding biomaterials were used to estimate superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. Our results show that 60 days after operation, treatment of rats with BG-Sr significantly increased MDA concentration and caused an increase of SOD, CAT and GPx activities in both skin and muscular tissues. BG-Sr revealed maturation of myotubes followed a normal appearance of muscle regenerated with high density and mature capillary vessels. High wound recovery with complete re-epithelialization and regeneration of skin was observed. The results demonstrate that the protective action against reactive oxygen species (ROS) was clearly observed in soft tissue surrounding BG-Sr. Moreover, the potential use of BG-Sr rapidly restores the wound skin and muscle structural and functional properties. The BG advantages such as ion release might make BG-Sr an effective biomaterial choice for antioxidative activity

Adsorption of nucleotides on biomimetic apatite: The case ofadenosine 5' triphosphate (ATP)

ATP is a well-known energy supplier in cells. The idea to associate ATP to pharmaceutical formulations/biotechnological devices to promote cells activity by potentially modulating their microenvironment thus appears as an appealing novel approach. Since biomimetic nanocrystalline apatites have shown great promise for biomedical applications (bone regeneration, cells diagnostics/therapeutics,...), thanks to a high surface reactivity and an intrinsically high biocompatibility, the present contribution was aimed at exploring ATP/apatite interactions. ATP adsorption on a synthetic carbonated nanocrystalline apatite preliminarily characterized (by XRD, FTIR, Raman, TG-DTA and SEM-EDX) was investigated in detail, pointing out a good agreement with Sips isothermal features. Adsorption characteristics were compared to those previously obtained on monophosphate nucleotides (AMP, CMP), unveiling some specificities. ATP was found to adsorb effectively onto biomimetic apatite: despite smaller values of the affinity constant KS and the exponential factor m, larger adsorbed amounts were reached for ATP as compared to AMP for any given concentration in solution. m<1 suggests that the ATP/apatite adsorption process is mostly guided by direct surface bonding rather than through stabilizing intermolecular interactions. Although standard ∆Gads° was estimated to only -4kJ/mol, the large value of Nmax led to significantly negative effective ∆Gads values down to -33kJ/mol, reflecting the spontaneous character of adsorption process. Vibrational spectroscopy data (FTIR and Raman) pointed out spectral modifications upon adsorption, confirming chemical-like interactions where both the triphosphate group of ATP and its nucleic base were involved. The present study is intended to serve as a basis for future research works involving ATP and apatite nanocrystals/nanoparticles in view of biomedical applications (e.g. bone tissue engineering, intracellular drug delivery,...)

Study the Nature and the Effects of the Impurities of Phosphate Rock in the Plants of Production of Phosphoric Acid

Phosphate rocks from different deposits vary widely in composition, and these variations have important effects in phosphoric acid production. All phosphate rocks contain many impurities. Knowledge of the nature and contents of the various elements in the phosphate is required in the manufacturing process of phosphoric acid. All these chemical characteristics can help the operator to foresee its objectives under the operating conditions and the cost of production in the manufacturing process of phosphoric acid.Two Tunisian natural phosphates coming from two different deposits were selected. We propose in this work studying the effects of the impurities that depending on their concentration can affect decisively the behavior of these ores in the process of production of phosphoric acid. Study the chemical composition of these ores is carried out according to standard analytical methods used for raw phosphates.The results obtained show a slight difference in chemical properties between the two types of sedimentary phosphates and their aptitude to be used in the plants of production of phosphoric acid.Â

Solubility Study and purification Of Industrial triple superphosphate in aqueous solution

Triple Superphosphate (TSP) is a chemical fertilizer, acknowledged by its important content of phosphorus, necessary element for plants. It’s obtained by adding phosphoric acid to phosphate ore, consisting of calcium phosphate containing many impurities. TSP was dissolved at different temperatures and in various amounts of water, filtered to remove insoluble compounds. Then the ionic conductivity was monitored for each solution as a function of the added amount of TSP. Aqueous solutions were evaporated to dryness and analyzed the P2O5. The starting materials and final products were analyzed by several methods (XRD, IR, NMR, SEM) confirming that after dissolution the product was purified