Comparison the Composition of Essential Oil Extracted of Coriandrum Sativum L by Hydro-distillation and Microwave-assisted Hydro-distillation and Evaluation Its Antimicrobial Activity

The essential oil has been extracted from Coriandrum sativum L seeds from Apiaceae collected in south west of Hama in Syria by hydro-distillation method and using the microwave-assisted hydro-distillation. The composition, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the essential oil was achieved and characterized by means of GC-MS and comparing with the references in the literature, about 30 compounds of the essential oil were characterized in both methods. The components and the main oil yield obtained in the form of hydro-distillation (HD) were compared with those obtained by microwave-assisted hydro-distillation (MAHD). The major compounds of the oil extracted by the method of hydro-distillation are: Linalool (59.6%), alpha-pinene (10.1%) and p-Cymene (9.58%), while the major compounds of the oil extracted by microwave-assisted hydro-distillation are : Linalool (63.2%), Geraniol (5%) and Geranyl acetate (6.4%). The microwave extraction method showed a shorter time (30 min) than the time taken by the hydro-distillation extraction method (3 h) Innovative microwave-based extraction methods are faster, more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The biological effects of essential oil were studied on some pathogenic bacteria including: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli. Keywords: Apiaceae, Coriandrum sativum L, Essential oils, hydro-distillation, microwave, GC-Mass,, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli

TOMRAS : a Task Oriented Mobile Remote Access System for desktop applications

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Mobile remote access to desktop applications is a potential enabler to improving the productivity and convenience of individuals and businesses. There is an increasing research interest in developing mobile remote access solutions for desktop applications. The developed proposals, however, are challenged by the hardware limitations of most mobile devices, such as the small display size. These limitations have a direct impact on the way existing desktop applications are presented on mobile devices. This thesis focuses on developing new ways of achieving effective mobile remote access to existing desktop applications. A conceptual model and implementation architecture for a task-oriented mobile remote access system (TOMRAS) have been introduced. The TOMRAS model adopts a user interface refactoring approach to generate task-oriented user interfaces for existing desktop applications without re-developing or modifying these applications. TOMRAS has a number of novel aspects, including, inferring user interface and behaviour knowledge from existing applications and transparently exposing the functionalities of existing desktop applications to be remotely accessible via a wide spectrum of mobile devices and platforms without redeveloping these desktop applications. The TOMRAS strategy of decoupling the generated mobile task's user interface from the functionality of existing applications also allows for a possible enriching of the mobile task's user interface with multimodal interaction capabilities. The thesis describes the TOMRAS conceptual model, and a potential implementation architecture for this model. The proposed implementation architecture articulates the intrinsic building blocks for mobile remote access solutions that adopt the TOMRAS model. The limitations of how widely and generically the model and techniques can be applied are also detailed in the thesis. Furthermore, a prototype that validates the feasibility of the TOMRAS implementation architecture is provided, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the task-oriented approach is presented

A Complex Interaction Between Reduced Reelin Expression and Prenatal Organophosphate Exposure Alters Neuronal Cell Morphology.

Genetic and environmental factors are both likely to contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, and major depressive disorders. Prior studies from our laboratory and others have demonstrated that the combinatorial effect of two factors-reduced expression of reelin protein and prenatal exposure to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos oxon-gives rise to acute biochemical effects and to morphological and behavioral phenotypes in adolescent and young adult mice. In the current study, we examine the consequences of these factors on reelin protein expression and neuronal cell morphology in adult mice. While the cell populations that express reelin in the adult brain appear unchanged in location and distribution, the levels of full length and cleaved reelin protein show persistent reductions following prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos oxon. Cell positioning and organization in the hippocampus and cerebellum are largely normal in animals with either reduced reelin expression or prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos oxon, but cellular complexity and dendritic spine organization is altered, with a skewed distribution of immature dendritic spines in adult animals. Paradoxically, combinatorial exposure to both factors appears to generate a rescue of the dendritic spine phenotypes, similar to the mitigation of behavioral and morphological changes observed in our prior study. Together, our observations support an interaction between reelin expression and chlorpyrifos oxon exposure that is not simply additive, suggesting a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors in regulating brain morphology

Ensembles for the Predictability of Average Temperatures

The instability of the atmosphere places an upper bound on the predictability of instantaneous weather patterns. The lack of complete periodicity in the atmosphere's behavior is sufficient evidence for instability (Lorenz, 1963), but it does not reveal the range at which the uncertainty in prediction must become large. Most estimates of this range have been based on numerical integrations of systems of equations of varying degrees of complexity, starting from two or more rather similar initial states. It has become common practice to measure the error which would be made by assuming one of these states to be correct, when in fact another is correct, by the root-mean-square difference between the two fields of wind, temperature, or some other element, and to express the rate of amplification of small errors in terms of a doubling time (Lorenz, 1963). The purpose of this thesis is to build tools with rigorous support useful for studying predictability of average temperatures. We apply our tools to a simple Earth-like example and make use of the Bred Vector algorithm to generate initial perturbations. The numerical model used is that of the Natural Convection problem. The analysis is done in steps, first by analyzing the turbulent natural convection problem then by introducing a fast calculation of an ensemble of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the temperature equation. Complete stability and convergence analysis of the methods are presented. The turbulent Earth model and its stability conditions are introduced at the end of the thesis

Design and implementation of a cost-aware and smart oyster mushroom cultivation system

Mushrooms are a nutritious food source, which can play a crucial role in providing affordable sources of proteins, vitamins and minerals for people worldwide, but their cultivation requires extensive training and considerable relevant expertise in order to fine-tune multiple environmental parameters. Internally displaced people in the Northern regions of Syria rely on very small-scale traditional oyster mushroom production, which cannot meet their local demand. Many international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working for Syrian refugees, work on mushroom cultivation projects. They have reported significant difficulties and challenges in mushroom cultivation amongst the targeted beneficiaries. Therefore, the two main questions driving this research are: (1) How can organic mushroom cultivation be promoted using a robust and affordable intelligent mushroom farming system? (2) How can organic mushroom farming practices be simplified to support internally displaced and refugee Syrians? This research evaluates the process of automating mushroom cultivation by designing and implementing a smart oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushroom farming system to remotely monitor and manage environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, air quality and illumination, inside the farm. Furthermore, ready and dedicated user-friendly web interfaces were also implemented to enable farmers to remotely monitor and manage their farms through the Internet. As a result, a dependable and cost-effective intelligent oyster mushroom cultivation system was designed and implemented in this work. The system includes remote monitoring and management via user-friendly interfaces. This simplifies mushroom cultivation for not only refugees and displaced communities, but also for mushroom farmers in low-income countries. This work can contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals one and two

Imaging-guided chest biopsies: techniques and clinical results

Background This article aims to comprehensively describe indications, contraindications, technical aspects, diagnostic accuracy and complications of percutaneous lung biopsy. Methods Imaging-guided biopsy currently represents one of the predominant methods for obtaining tissue specimens in patients with lung nodules; in many cases treatment protocols are based on histological information; thus, biopsy is frequently performed, when technically feasible, or in case other techniques (such as bronchoscopy with lavage) are inconclusive. Results Although a coaxial system is suitable in any case, two categories of needles can be used: fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and core-needle biopsy (CNB), with the latter demonstrated to have a slightly higher overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Conclusion Percutaneous lung biopsy is a safe procedure even though a few complications are possible: pneumothorax, pulmonary haemorrhage and haemoptysis are common complications, while air embolism and seeding are rare, but potentially fatal complications

Design and implementation of a cost-aware and smart oyster mushroom cultivation system

Mushrooms are a nutritious food source, which can play a crucial role in providing affordable sources of proteins, vitamins and minerals for people worldwide, but their cultivation requires extensive training and considerable relevant expertise in order to fine-tune multiple environmental parameters. Internally displaced people in the Northern regions of Syria rely on very small-scale traditional oyster mushroom production, which cannot meet their local demand. Many international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working for Syrian refugees, work on mushroom cultivation projects. They have reported significant difficulties and challenges in mushroom cultivation amongst the targeted beneficiaries. Therefore, the two main questions driving this research are: (1) How can organic mushroom cultivation be promoted using a robust and affordable intelligent mushroom farming system? (2) How can organic mushroom farming practices be simplified to support internally displaced and refugee Syrians? This research evaluates the process of automating mushroom cultivation by designing and implementing a smart oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushroom farming system to remotely monitor and manage environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, air quality and illumination, inside the farm. Furthermore, ready and dedicated user-friendly web interfaces were also implemented to enable farmers to remotely monitor and manage their farms through the Internet. As a result, a dependable and cost-effective intelligent oyster mushroom cultivation system was designed and implemented in this work. The system includes remote monitoring and management via user-friendly interfaces. This simplifies mushroom cultivation for not only refugees and displaced communities, but also for mushroom farmers in low-income countries. This work can contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals one and two

Transplantation of canine olfactory ensheathing cells producing chondroitinase ABC promotes chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan digestion and axonal sprouting following spinal cord injury

Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation is a promising strategy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI), as has been demonstrated in experimental SCI models and naturally occurring SCI in dogs. However, the presence of chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans within the extracellular matrix of the glial scar can inhibit efficient axonal repair and limit the therapeutic potential of OECs. Here we have used lentiviral vectors to genetically modify canine OECs to continuously deliver mammalian chondroitinase ABC at the lesion site in order to degrade the inhibitory chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans in a rodent model of spinal cord injury. We demonstrate that these chondroitinase producing canine OECs survived at 4 weeks following transplantation into the spinal cord lesion and effectively digested chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans at the site of injury. There was evidence of sprouting within the corticospinal tract rostral to the lesion and an increase in the number of corticospinal axons caudal to the lesion, suggestive of axonal regeneration. Our results indicate that delivery of the chondroitinase enzyme can be achieved with the genetically modified OECs to increase axon growth following SCI. The combination of these two promising approaches is a potential strategy for promoting neural regeneration following SCI in veterinary practice and human patients