Harmonizing Globalization and Traditionalism in the Rentier State: Exploring the Modernization of the United Arab Emirates

Scholars of oil-based rentierism otherwise dubbed as ‘the oil curse’, claim that the political systems of such countries and their leaderships cannot be taken as serious development focused agents. In a similar contention, proponents of western-style democracy support the idea that ‘sheikhdom’ leadership based on patriarchic inheritance is destructive to development, while yet another section of scholars claims that Islam, as a faith, is in general anti-development. In order to broaden the debate on this subject, this study uses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a case of a country that has achieved a tremendous success in various development areas and contrary to the old view of the three types of critics mentioned here. Keywords: Arabian Gulf, economic diversification, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), leadership, Middle Eas

Contribution of PEPFAR-Supported HIV and TB Molecular Diagnostic Networks to COVID-19 Testing Preparedness in 16 Countries.

The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports molecular HIV and tuberculosis diagnostic networks and information management systems in low- and middle-income countries. We describe how national programs leveraged these PEPFAR-supported laboratory resources for SARS-CoV-2 testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sent a spreadsheet template consisting of 46 indicators for assessing the use of PEPFAR-supported diagnostic networks for COVID-19 pandemic response activities during April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, to 27 PEPFAR-supported countries or regions. A total of 109 PEPFAR-supported centralized HIV viral load and early infant diagnosis laboratories and 138 decentralized HIV and TB sites reported performing SARS-CoV-2 testing in 16 countries. Together, these sites contributed to >3.4 million SARS-CoV-2 tests during the 1-year period. Our findings illustrate that PEPFAR-supported diagnostic networks provided a wide range of resources to respond to emergency COVID-19 diagnostic testing in 16 low- and middle-income countries

Intellectualism amid Ethnocentrism: Mukthar and the 4.5 Factor

The article is a critique to the 4.5 formula for clan representativeness in government emerged during the Sodere meeting in 1997. The authors, criticizing Prof. Mukhtar opinion, presents the reasons why this formula should be considered divisive, unequal and clanism fostering.Maqaalkani wuxuu naqdinayaa nidaamka qabaliga ah ee dawladda lagu dhisay shirka Sodere (1997) oo ku salaysan in 4.5 ay noqdaan xubnaha matalo qabiilka. Qorayaashu waxay naqdinayaan taladii Prof. Mukhtar, waxayna muujinayaan sababaha uu nidaamkan ka dhigayo mid khaldan oo xaqdarro ku dhisan, una horseedaya dhiirrigelinta qabyaaladda.L'articolo è una critica alla formula 4.5 per la rappresentatività clanica al governo, emersa durante l'incontro di Sodere del 1997. Gli autori, biasimando la posizione del Prof. Mukhtar, espongono i motivi per cui questa formula dovrebbe essere considerata controversa, ingiusta e un pericoloso incentivo al clanismo.Document provided by Bildhaan, Digital Commons at Macalester College.Dokumentigan waxaa dadka u soo bandhigay Bildhaan, Digital Commons ee jaamacadda "Macalester College".Documento messo a disposizione da Bildhaan, Digital Commons del Macalester College.Link: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan

Intellectualism amid Ethnocentrism: Mukthar and the 4.5 Factor

The article is a critique to the 4.5 formula for clan representativeness in government emerged during the Sodere meeting in 1997. The authors, criticizing Prof. Mukhtar opinion, presents the reasons why this formula should be considered divisive, unequal and clanism fostering.Maqaalkani wuxuu naqdinayaa nidaamka qabaliga ah ee dawladda lagu dhisay shirka Sodere (1997) oo ku salaysan in 4.5 ay noqdaan xubnaha matalo qabiilka. Qorayaashu waxay naqdinayaan taladii Prof. Mukhtar, waxayna muujinayaan sababaha uu nidaamkan ka dhigayo mid khaldan oo xaqdarro ku dhisan, una horseedaya dhiirrigelinta qabyaaladda.L'articolo è una critica alla formula 4.5 per la rappresentatività clanica al governo, emersa durante l'incontro di Sodere del 1997. Gli autori, biasimando la posizione del Prof. Mukhtar, espongono i motivi per cui questa formula dovrebbe essere considerata controversa, ingiusta e un pericoloso incentivo al clanismo.Document provided by Bildhaan, Digital Commons at Macalester College.Dokumentigan waxaa dadka u soo bandhigay Bildhaan, Digital Commons ee jaamacadda "Macalester College".Documento messo a disposizione da Bildhaan, Digital Commons del Macalester College.Link: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan

Cancer treatment response evaluation using photoacoustic signal envelop statistics: A preliminary study

Cancer is a major public health problem all over the world. It is currently the second leading cause of death in the United States, and is expected to surpass heart diseases as the leading cause of death in the next few years. To overcome this problem, researchers are discovering new treatments and developing imaging technologies that can aid in early detection of cancer. In this work, we investigate the use of signal envelope statistics to monitor and quantify structural changes in tissues during cell death. Ultrasound backscatter and photoacoustic data were obtained from three mice treated with, Hat-DOX, DOX and saline. The signal envelope statistics were examined by fitting the Rayleigh and Generalized Gamma distributions. The fit parameters showed sensitivity to structural changes in the cells in photoacoustic and ultrasound images. The results indicate that photoacoustic signal statistics can be potentially used to monitor structural changes within a tumor, raising the possibility of monitoring cancer therapy efficacy.</p

Synthesis of Macromolecular Aromatic Epoxy Resins as Anticorrosive Materials: Computational Modeling Reinforced Experimental Studies

Herein, two bifunctional macromolecular aromatic epoxy resins (ERs), namely, 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol oxirane (ERH) and 4,4'-isopropylidene tetrabromodiphenol oxirane (ERBr), are synthesized, characterized, and evaluated as anticorrosive materials for carbon steel corrosion in acidic medium. ERs were characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. Investigated ERs acted as effective corrosion inhibitors, and their inhibition effectiveness followed the order ERBr (96.5%) > ERH (95.6%). Potentiodynamic polarization results showed that ERH and ERBr behave as predominantly anodic type and the cathodic type of corrosion inhibitors, respectively. Adsorption of both the studied ERH and ERBr molecules obeyed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Density functional theory and molecular dynamics studies showed that protonated forms of ERH and ERBr contribute more to metal (carbon steel)-inhibitor (ERH/ERBr) interactions than their neutral forms

Electrochemical, surface morphological and computational evaluation on carbohydrazide Schiff bases as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in acidic medium

Abstract Anticorrosion and adsorption behaviour of synthesized carbohydrazide Schiff bases, namely (Z)-N′-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-6-methyl-2-oxo-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carbohydrazide(MBTC) and (Z)-N′-(3,4-dichlorobenzylidene)-6-methyl-2-oxo-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carbohydrazide (CBTC) was examined for mild steel (MS) in 15% HCl medium. The corrosion inhibition study was performed by using gravimetric, thermodynamic, electrochemical and theoretical studies including density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) and Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). The outcomes in terms of corrosion inhibition efficiency using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method at 303 K and 150 ppm concentration were 96.75% for MBTC and 95.14% for CBTC. Both inhibitors adsorbed on the MS surface through physical as well as chemical adsorption and followed the Langmuir isotherm. The mixed-type nature of both inhibitors was identified by polarization results. Surface analysis was done using FESEM, EDX, AFM and XPS studies and results showed that a protective layer of inhibitor molecules was developed over the surface of MS. The results of DFT, MCS and MDS are in accordance with experimental results obtained by weight loss and electrochemical methods

Adsorption, Thermodynamic and Quantum Chemical Studies of 1–hexyl–3–methylimidazolium Based Ionic Liquids as Corrosion Inhibitors for Mild Steel in HCl

The inhibition of mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl solution by some ionic liquids (ILs) namely, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate [HMIM][TfO], 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [HMIM][BF4], 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [HMIM][PF6], and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide [HMIM][I] was investigated using electrochemical measurements, spectroscopic analyses and quantum chemical calculations. All the ILs showed appreciably high inhibition efficiency. At 303 K, the results of electrochemical measurements indicated that the studied ILs are mixed-type inhibitors. The adsorption studies showed that all the four ILs adsorb spontaneously on steel surface with [HMIM][TfO], [HMIM][BF4] and [HMIM][I] obeying Langmuir adsorption isotherm, while [HMIM][PF6] conformed better with Temkin adsorption isotherm. Spectroscopic analyses suggested the formation of Fe/ILs complexes. Some quantum chemical parameters were calculated to corroborate experimental results