Screening of Mineral Elements in Cistus ladanifer and Cistus libanotis Essential Oils and their Leaves

peer reviewedThe aim of this study was to determine the levels of mineral compounds in Cistus ladanifer and Cistus libanotis growing in Eastern Morocco from two different regions Jerada (arid climate) and Tafoughalt (humid climate). A total of fifteen elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Zn, Al, Ca, Fe, K and Mg) has been measured by inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Their concentrations have been found to vary in leaves and their essential oils. From the results of the study, P, Al, Ca, Fe, K and Mg are highest in all the samples analysed. Cr and Pb were not detected in essential oil of Cistus libanotis from Jerada and Tafoughalt, respectively. These plants were found to contain appreciable amounts of the elements K, Ca, Fe, Mg, P, Al, Ni, Li, Zn and Cu Witch are important in many biological mechanisms. This study also provides a comprehensive survey of the concentration of elements in plants due to their wide utilisation as herbal fusion or decoction in Eastern Morocco

Failure Detection Lower Bounds on Registers and Consensus (Preliminary Version)

This paper addresses the problem of determining the weakest failure detector to implement consensus in a message passing system when t out of n processes can crash (including when n/2 =< t < n-1), by addressing the problem of determining the weakest failure detector to implement a register. We complement and, in a precise sense, generalise previous results on the implementability of consensus and registers in a message passing model (augmented with the failure detector abstraction)

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of seeds oils and fruit juice of Opuntia Ficus Indica and Opuntia Dillenii from Morocco

peer reviewedThis study provides basic information on the mineral composition of the seeds and antioxidant activity in seeds oils and fruit juices of cactus belonging to two species Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii, from Morocco (Oujda), in order to evaluate the nutritional value of the Opuntia extracts. Minerals determined from dry seeds of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii were: calcium 480.93 and 408.28; phosphorus 1417.59 and 970.15; potassium 304.51 and 201.96; magnesium: 316.59 and 240.30; sodium: 48.33 and 18.18; zinc: 70.77 and 78.26 mg/100g respectively. The main fatty acids of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oil were respectively: linoleic acid: 58.79 and 79.83%, Palmitic acid: 11.18 and 13.52%. The antioxidant activity of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oils and fruit juices were assessed by means of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay and ascorbic acid test. The results showed that the antioxidant activities of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oil (IC50 = 19.79 ± 0.023 and 27.21 ± 0.075 μL/mL) are higher than that of the reference ascorbic acid (IC50 = 16.56 ± 0.019 μg/mL). However, the Opuntia dillenii juice presents antioxidant activity more important than this of Opuntia seed oil and ascorbic acid. It possessed strong antioxidant activity (IC50 = 8.18 μL/mL). The antioxidant activity of the seed oil and juice were also found to be concentration-dependent

Assessment of fatty acids profile, oil yield and tocopherol content of four Almond cultivars grown in Eastern Morocco

The most cultivated varieties of almond in eastern Morocco: (Beldi (B), a local ecotype, Marcona (M) from Spain, Ferragnes-Ferraduel (F-F) and Fournat de Breznaud (FNB) from France), were studied during three consecutive crop years in order to evaluate variations in kernel oil yield, Fatty acid (FA) profile and physicochemical properties. For this purpose, extraction of almond oils was carried out by mechanical press. The yield of varieties B, M, (F-F) and FNB ranged between 50.68%- 54.33%, 41.46%- 52.59%, 47.70%-52.39% and 51.66%-56.10%, respectively. Oleic, linoleic and palmitic acids are the major fatty acids (FA) ranging between 57.54%- 72.90%, 17.80%- 29.81% and 6.50%-8.48%, respectively. Results showed a noticeable effect (P<0.001) of variety on Total phenolic content (TPC), oxidative stability and α-, β-, γ-, δ-tocopherol isomers; however, acidity and peroxide index, were affected with a lower manner by "variety" factor. In addition, all the analyzed parameters were highly (P<0.001) affected by climatic conditions of the crop year. In addition, the highest variations for the analyzed almond oils were recorded for their contents on α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, oleic and linoleic acids. According to the observed results, the couple Ferragnes-Ferraduel seems to produce stable and high quality almond oil compared to the other varieties

From Teamchef Arminius to Hermann Junior: glocalised discourse about a national foundation myth

If for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the ‘Battle of the Teutoburg Forest’, fought in 9 CE between Roman armies and Germanic tribes, was predominantly a reference point for nationalist and chauvinist discourses in Germany, the first decade of the twenty-first century has seen attempts to link public remembrance with local/regional identities on the one hand and international/intercultural contact on the other. In the run up to and during the ‘anniversary year’ of 2009, German media, sports institutions and various other official institutions articulating tourist, economic and political interests attempted to create a new ‘glocalised’ version of the public memory of the Teutoburg battle. Combining methods of Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper analyses the narrative and argumentative topoi employed in this re-orientation of public memory, with a special emphasis on hybrid, post-national identity-construction. Das zweitausendjährige Gedenkjahr der „Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald“ im Jahr 2009 bot eine günstige Gelegenheit, die bis in die zweite Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts dominante Tradition nationalistisch–chauvinistischer Deutungen des Sieges von germanischen Stämmen über drei römische Legionen zu korrigieren und zu überwinden. Der Aufsatz analysiert mit Hilfe diskurslinguistischer Methoden die Anstrengungen regionaler Institutionen und Medien, die nationale Vereinnahmung des historischen Gedenkens kritisch zu thematisieren sowie neue, zum eine lokal situierte, zum andern international orientierte Identifikationsangebote anzubieten. Die Analyse zeigt, dass solche „de-nationalisierten“ Identifikationsangebote zwar teilweise auch früher verwendet wurden, aber heutzutage rekontextualisiert und auf innovative Weise in den Vordergrund gestellt werden

Core Blighty? How Journalists Define Themselves Through Metaphor

Journalism has long relied on certain core metaphors in order to express its claims to social and political usefulness. The deployment of metaphors to describe a practice that in contrast asserts its truth-telling and plain prose style is in itself interesting. Since metaphor acts as a powerful indicator of presuppositions it can be used to reify complex public discourses, reducing them to common-sense thinking. This paper will explore what metaphors have been used in association with journalism in the pages of the British Journalism Review since the closure of the News of the World. This publication was launched in 1989 in response to a previous crisis in public and professional confidence in journalism and has since then provided an intriguing insider dialogue on developments within the area. Do metaphorical articulations of the current role and image of journalism demonstrate an awareness among journalists of changes in its values or do they rather tend to reinforce more traditional attitudes to a practice under threat? Post-Leveson what can the patterning of such figurative language across articles by a wide range of prominent journalists in the UK tell us about the values and aspirations of journalists in a time when journalism is under intense scrutiny

Using conceptual metaphor and functional grammar to explore how language used in physics affects student learning

This paper introduces a theory about the role of language in learning physics. The theory is developed in the context of physics students' and physicists' talking and writing about the subject of quantum mechanics. We found that physicists' language encodes different varieties of analogical models through the use of grammar and conceptual metaphor. We hypothesize that students categorize concepts into ontological categories based on the grammatical structure of physicists' language. We also hypothesize that students over-extend and misapply conceptual metaphors in physicists' speech and writing. Using our theory, we will show how, in some cases, we can explain student difficulties in quantum mechanics as difficulties with language.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. ST:PE

Antioxydant activity, oxidative stability properties of Colza oil, comparison of mechanical agitated and ultrasonic extraction on green tea catechins of Camellia sinensis L.

peer reviewedUltrasonic extraction “UE” used to optimize the extraction yield of phenolic compounds “PC” from green tea Camellia sinensis L., and compared with mechanical agitated extraction “MAE”. UE was applied at different times (15, 10 and 5min) and temperatures (25, 60 and 95°C) and MAE was performed at these experimental conditions (15 min, 95°C, 400 rpm). Results demonstrate that the maximum yield of epigallocatechin 3-gallate “EGCG” extracted by UE was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that obteined using MAE (136 mg/g vs 100 mg/g, respectively). The optimum conditions for the polyphenol compounds “PC” recovery are obtained using UE during 15 min at 95°C (~134.66 mg/g). Four catechins from extracted PC were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a diode array detector and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry “HPLC-DAD & LC-MS”: epigallocatechin “EGC”, epicatechin “EC”, epigallocatechingallate “EGCG”, and epicatechin-gallate “ECG”. EGCG is the major compound in polyphenol extracts representing 60 %. The antioxidant capacity of the obtained extracts was also studied. Diphényl-2-pycril-hydrazyl “DPPH” scavenging activity is higher for UE than MAE (~ 90 % vs ~85%). Moreover, the PC obtained by UE added to colza oil had a higher oxidative stability, determined by rancimat than those extracted by MAE method (~30.62 h vs ~21.26 h). Results indicate the suitability of UE method for production of PC as potent antioxidant for stabilization of vegetable oils such as colza oil