Lawrence Durrell and the Alexandria quartet: influences shaping his fiction.

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Efficacy of extended clomifene citrate regimen in comparison with gonadotropins in clomifene citrate-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Gonadotropins are successful treatment for women with clomifene citrate (CC)-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that extended CC treatment may be an alternative to gonadotropins in the management of CC-resistant women with PCOS.Methods: A randomized controlled trial comprised 200 women with CC-resistant PCOS were allocated to two equal treatment groups. Patients in the CC group were given 100 mg of CC daily starting from the third day of menses for 10 days. Patients in the gonadotropins group were given follitropin-alfa according to step-up regimen starting on the 3rd day of menses. The primary outcome measure was the biochemical pregnancy rate [diagnosed by measuring serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) 16-days after HCG injection] and clinical pregnancy rate (confirmed by vaginal ultrasound at six-weeks of amenorrhea). Secondary outcomes were: ovulation rate, endometrial thickness at HCG injection, and adverse drug events.Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the CC group and the gonadotropins group regarding biochemical pregnancy rates [21%, 24%; respectively, P=0.735; relative risk (RR)=0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.52-1.47], and clinical pregnancy rate [19%, 21%; respectively, P=0.86; RR=0.9, (95% CI, 0.52-1.58)]. No significant difference was displayed regarding ovulation rate, endometrial thickness at HCG, and adverse drug events.Conclusions: The extended CC regimen appears to constitute a good alternative to gonadotropins therapy in patients with CC-resistant PCOS. Further multi-center studies are needed to confirm our results and to provide more powerful evidence

Le Conte du moucharabieh

Écrit au Caire en 1942. Révisé et réécrit en 1984, Le Caire. Lieu de l’histoire : Le Caire, quartier de la Citadelle et quartier al-Nahasin. Époque de l’histoire : Le xxe siècle, ainsi que le xive siècle. Les personnages de l’histoire à l’époque contemporaine 1. Khalid : Un jeune homme de 35 ans, imprégné tout à la fois de culture orientale et occidentale. Animé d’un sentiment nationaliste, il désire voir perdurer le parfum d’éternité de la vie orientale, sans qu’il n’entrave le cours de la v..

Engineered Nano-Architectures as Advanced Anode Materials for Next Generation Lithium Ion Batteries

Li-ion batteries have a predominant market share as mobile energy storage devices, especially in consumer electronics. New concepts for electrode material designs are, however, necessary to boost their energy and power densities, and most importantly, the long term cycle stability. This will allow for these devices to gain widespread acceptance in electric vehicles, an area with immense market potential and environmental benefits. From a practical perspective, new electrode materials must be developed by simplistic, environmentally friendly and low cost processes. As a new class of electrode materials, mesoporous Sn/SnO2/Carbon composites with uniformly distributed Sn/SnO2 embedded within the carbon pore walls have been rationally designed and synthesized. These nanocomposites have been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and tested as negative electrodes in a cell using lithium foil as the counter electrode. The inclusion of metallic Sn in SnO2/CMK3 resulted in a unique, ordered structure and provided a synergistic effect which resulted in an impressive initial reversible capacity of 799 mAh g-1. In addition, at a high current of 800 mAg-1, the heterogeneous structure was able to provide a stable capacity of 350 mAhg-1 and a retention capacity of ~ 670 mAh g-1 after 60 cycles. While Sn/SnO2 composites have been deemed very promising, Si materials boast improved energy storage capacities, inspiring us to investigate these materials as new anode structure. A novel one-pot synthesis for the sub-eutectic growth of (111) oriented Si nanowires on an in-situ formed nickel nanoparticle catalyst prepared from an inexpensive nickel nitrate precursor is developed. Anchoring the nickel nanoparticles to a simultaneously reduced graphene oxide support created synergy between the individual components of the c-SiNW-G composite, which greatly improved the reversible charge capacity and its retention at high current density when applied as an anode for a lithium-ion battery. The c-SiNW-G electrodes in a Li-ion battery achieved excellent high-rate performance, producing a stable reversible capacity of 550 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 6.8 A g-1 (78% of that at 0.1 A g-1). Thus, this process creates an important building block for a new wave of low cost silicon nanowire materials and a promising avenue for high rate Li-ion batteries. While excellent rate capability was obtained by using SiNW/graphene based material, simplifying the process may drive Si based materials to commercialization. A novel, economical flash heat treatment to fabricate silicon based electrodes is introduced to boost the performance and cycle capability of Li-ion batteries. The treatment results in a high mass fraction of Si, improved interfacial contact, synergistic SiO2/C coating and a conductive cellular network for improved electronic conductivity, as well as flexibility for stress compensation. The developed electrodes achieve first cycle efficiency of ~84% and a maximum charge capacity of 3525 mA h g-1, which is almost 84% of silicon’s theoretical maximum. Furthermore, a stable reversible charge capacity of 1150 mA h g-1 at 1.2 A g-1 can be achieved over 500 cycles. Thus, the flash heat treatment method introduces a promising avenue for the production of industrially viable, next-generation Li-ion batteries. Even though we obtained a dramatic improvement to a treated electrode based on commercial silicon, we still need to boast the cycle stability and high areal capacity achieved by higher electrode loading. Thus, we report a scalable approach that relies on covalent binding commercially available Si nanoparticles (SiNP) to sulfur-doped graphene (SG) followed by shielding them with cyclized polyacrylonitrile. The covalent synergy led to improved material property that can deliver stable reversible capacity of 1033 mAh g-1 for more than 2000 cycles at a rate of 1 A g-1. The areal capacity was 3.5 mAh cm-2 at 0.1 A g-1, approaching the commercial demand. The spatial arrangement of Si after cycling reveals that it was confined in nanowires morphology. This reveals that the solid electrolyte interphase remains stable leading to superior cyclability. Our DFT calculations revealed covalent hybrid interaction between Si, S, and C leading to stable material configuration. Furthermore, the structure synergy facilitated lithium diffusion, which strongly supports our results. This simple, low cost, feasible, and safe approach provide new avenues for engineering electrode structure for enhanced performance.4 month

Primary Science Teachers’ Perceptions towards STEM Education in Public Schools in Qatar

Understanding teachers' perceptions of STEM education is crucial to ensure the quality of teaching and learning provided for the students in the classrooms. This study aimed at investigating science teachers’ perceptions towards STEM education in primary public schools in the State of Qatar in terms of: teachers' knowledge, STEM teaching requirements, impact on students' outcomes. This study followed a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach. Quantitative data was collected by surveying (148) science teachers, while qualitative data was obtained using four focus groups. Results indicated that teachers have relatively high perceptions towards STEM education. However, the findings highlighted the need to increase teachers’ understanding and knowledge of STEM disciplines and their approaches to integration. Keywords: STEM education, perceptions, science teachers. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-24-04 Publication date:August 31st 202

Podcasting as an Effective Pedagogy for Teaching Chemistry During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all educational institutions worldwide to switch their active routine to ONLINE. With students attending classes virtually, a number of problems arose including the absence of social interaction and the imposed difficulty of digesting the materials of different courses, especially for those with a scientific background. General chemistry (GC), as an introductory course, is usually registered by students from different backgrounds, including Science, Engineering, and Agriculture. At the United Arab Emirates University, the second level of GC (GCII) is more focused on problem-solving as related to various topics. With the absence of face-to-face experience because of the COVID-19 circumstances, students’ understanding of the chemical concepts and implementing that in problem-solving has become a challenge. The current work investigates the effect of using professionally-made podcasts of GCII on the extent of understanding of students registered for this course during the period of 2020-2020 over a course of four semesters. The results of surveying the usage and feedback of students engaged in this experiment are outlined. Conclusively, this pedagogy is fully supported by most of the students who regard it as a suitable alternative to face-to-face settings

The developmental objectives (Maqasid) of zakah

Zakāh is monetary ‘ibādah (Islamic ritual) and considered to be a primary resource and distribution of a state in facing problems of the community, importantly with regards to poverty and its types. Being an obligatory ‘ibādah ordained by Allah, it is considered to be a form of trial and test upon mankind unto something which they immensely love. Thus, the relevance of this topic prevails when discussing on the governance of Zakāh fund, its development and orientation as intended by Allah. Development of Ẓakāh funds in Malaysia with particular reference to Ẓakah institution in Kedah. This research determines to understand the developmental role of Zakāh in curbing poverty and relative poverty with special reference to Malaysia community. The research undertakes descriptive analytical method to expound on the role of Zakāh in curbing poverty in Malaysia through its application by Zakāh institution in the state of Kedah. Zakāh as a monetary resource of a state, magnifies the splendor of Sharī’ah and its perfection in interacting with the second rule of a state, which is wealth. Zakāh plays a big role in developing community and curb its problems, particularly the problem of poverty and relative poverty

Color Portion of Solar Radiation in the Partial Annular Solar Eclipse, October 3rd, 2005, at Helwan, Egypt

Measurements were made of various solar radiation components, global, direct and diffuse and their fractions during the partial annular solar eclipse on October 3rd, 2005 at Helwan, Egypt (Lat. 29.866◦ N and Long. 31.20◦ E), and an analysis has been made. The duration of the solar eclipse was 3 h 17 min, and the maximum magnitude of the eclipse in this region was 0.65. The optical depth of the direct component and the relative humidity decreased, while both the transparency and the air temperature increased towards the maximum eclipse. The general trends of the global components are decreasing optical depth and increasing transparency between the first contact and the last contact. The prevailing color during the eclipse duration was diffused infrared (77 % of the total diffuse radiation level)

Use of hyaluronic acid-derived dermal substitute for skin reconstruction in giant omphalocele

The management of neonates with giant omphalocele remains a challenging endeavor. Multiple management strategies have been devised and several repair techniques have been described. However, no single procedure can be considered a standard. Among silo, skin flap, and primary closure, none have been successful in treating all patients. Here we present two cases in which we used Hyalomatrix to prepare for skin grafting to repair giant omphaloceles.Keywords: dermal substitutes, giant omphalocele, Gortex mesh, Hyalomatrix, skin graf

Gravity observations at Sinai Peninsula and its geophysical and geodetic applications

AbstractSouth Sinai is an interesting region from both tectonic and seismological settings. Tectonically, Sinai Peninsula is strongly dominated by its active boundaries due to its location at the triple junction among the Gulf of Suez rift, the Aqaba–Levant transform fault and the Red Sea Rift. Moreover, reported seismological activities along the three tectonic boundaries indicate its continuous activities.It is thus of great interest to delineate the subsurface geological structure responsible of its tectonic settings and its relation to the seismological activity. Therefore, terrestrial gravity observation has been carried out to figure out the sub-surface structure representing its tectonic settings.On the other hand, the location of Sinai Peninsula between Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqepa and Red Sea has made the satellite altimetry data an optimum tool to determine the Gravity sources on the marine regions bounding the Sinai region. Finally, temporal gravity variation of the GRACE satellite mission, launched in 2003 gives the opportunity to monitor its temporal gravity variation on regional scale. Temporal gravity variation from GRACE demonstrates any possible mass redistribution along the pounding tectonic settings and its relation to seismicity.Observed gravity map shows significant gravity anomalies attributed to tectonic and seismicity. Satellite altimetry and gravity data are considered to be a valuable source of data to determine the offshore subsurface structure. Temporal gravity variations from GRACE shows important zones of mass redistribution attributed to its new tectonics and its relation to the seismological activities. Integrating all available data sheds more light on the geodynamic behavior of the selected region and its relation to the seismic activities