An Upper Bound on the Higgs Boson Mass from a Positivity Condition on the Mass Matrix

We impose the condition that the eigenvalues of the mass matrix in the shifted Lagrangian density be positive at \phi=\phi_{0}, the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field. Using the one-loop effective potential of the standard model, this condition leads to an upper bound on the Higgs boson mass m_{H}: m_{H}<230GeV, for a top quark mass of 175GeV.Comment: LaTex, 5 page

Evaluation of meat and meat product oxidation and off-flavor formation: Managing oxidative changes

One of the primary issues with processed foods during heat treatment and freezing storage is fat oxidation, which causes significant changes in fats due to their interaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS). This interaction leads to the creation of various aldehydes that have a high affinity for large molecules, such as proteins, leading to the formation of final products of advanced oxidation processes that contribute to food spoilage. Co-oxidation can also result in extensive damage. Another problem affecting the quality and nutritional value of meat products is protein oxidation, which can occur during storage via freezing and thawing or as a result of heat treatment. Heat treatment can cause physical and chemical changes, such as the loss of some essential amino acids and the transformation of certain amino acids into carbonyl compounds via various mechanisms. Protein oxidation is indicated by the accumulation of these carbonyl compounds, and the heat treatment can lead to the denaturation of myoglobin, which is responsible for the brown color of cooked meat and is influenced by several factors. Active protein aggregates can interact with the oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids and with carbohydrate glycation or glycoxidation to produce Maillard products. It is critical to understand the oxidative changes that occur in fats and proteins in food, particularly in meat products, since these components are among the primary constituents of food.One of the primary issues with processed foods during heat treatment and freezing storage is fat oxidation, which causes significant changes in fats due to their interaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS). This interaction leads to the creation of various aldehydes that have a high affinity for large molecules, such as proteins, leading to the formation of final products of advanced oxidation processes that contribute to food spoilage. Co-oxidation can also result in extensive damage. Another problem affecting the quality and nutritional value of meat products is protein oxidation, which can occur during storage via freezing and thawing or as a result of heat treatment. Heat treatment can cause physical and chemical changes, such as the loss of some essential amino acids and the transformation of certain amino acids into carbonyl compounds via various mechanisms. Protein oxidation is indicated by the accumulation of these carbonyl compounds, and the heat treatment can lead to the denaturation of myoglobin, which is responsible for the brown color of cooked meat and is influenced by several factors. Active protein aggregates can interact with the oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids and with carbohydrate glycation or glycoxidation to produce Maillard products. It is critical to understand the oxidative changes that occur in fats and proteins in food, particularly in meat products, since these components are among the primary constituents of food

الخصائص السيكو مترية للصورة العربية القصيرة للإصدار الثاني من قائمة الخمسة الكبار

هدفت هذه الدراسة لفحص الخصائص القياسية للصورة العربية القصيرة للإصدار الثاني من قائمة الخمسة الكبار في الكويت. استخدمت في هذه الدراسة (3) عينات مستقلة من طلاب جامعة الكويت إجمالي قوامها (2977) فرداً بواقع (1116) من الذكور و (1861) من الإناث وذلك لحساب ثبات الاتساق الداخلي والصدق العاملي وصدق المحك. وقد أسفرت نتائج الدراسة عن تباين معاملات الثبات لقائمة الخمسة الكبار حيث تراوحت معاملات ألفا للثبات بين 0.75 و0.82 لعينة الذكور في حين تراوحت معاملات ألفا للثبات بين 0.74 و0.81 لعينة الإناث. كما كشفت نتائج التحليل العاملي الاستكشافي عن استخلاص خمسة عوامل لقائمة الخمسة الكبار (العصابية، الانبساط، الانفتاح العقلي، الاتقان، القبول). كما كشفت نتائج صدق المحك عن ارتباطات مرتفعة بين مقاييس أوجه السمات الخمسة عشر المكونة للصورة العربية القصيرة للإصدار الثاني من قائمة الخمسة الكبار ونظيرتها من اوجه السمات المكونة للصورة الأصلية المراجعة من قائمة العوامل الخمسة للشخصية NEO-PI-R

Psychometric Properties of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children in a Sample of Kuwaiti University Undergraduates

This study aimed to examine: (1) the internal consistency and the test-retest reliability of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) developed by Barbaranelli et al., (2003); (2) its five factor structure and (3) the criterion validity of the BFQ-C. The sample consisted of 745 Kuwaiti university undergraduate students (333 males, 412 females). Their age average was (M= 19.58  (SD = 1.12)). The results showed that Cronbach alpha's indicated high internal consistency. Principle components analysis showed that most of the items loaded convincingly on to their factors. The criterion validity of the BFQ-C was acceptable to high. It was concluded that the Arabic version of the BFQ-C could be used successfully with Kuwaiti university undergraduate students

Fast Disinfection of Escherichia coli

Water disinfection has attracted the attention of scientists worldwide due to water scarcity. The most significant challenges are determining how to achieve proper disinfection without producing harmful byproducts obtained usually using conventional chemical disinfectants and developing new point-of-use methods for the removal and inactivation of waterborne pathogens. The removal of contaminants and reuse of the treated water would provide significant reductions in cost, time, liabilities, and labour to the industry and result in improved environmental stewardship. The present study demonstrates a new approach for the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from water using as-produced and modified/functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with 1-octadecanol groups (C18) under the effect of microwave irradiation. Scanning/transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy were used to characterise the morphological/structural and thermal properties of CNTs. The 1-octadecanol (C18) functional group was attached to the surface of CNTs via Fischer esterification. The produced CNTs were tested for their efficiency in destroying the pathogenic bacteria (E. coli) in water with and without the effect of microwave radiation. A low removal rate (3–5%) of (E. coli) bacteria was obtained when CNTs alone were used, indicating that CNTs did not cause bacterial cellular death. When combined with microwave radiation, the unmodified CNTs were able to remove up to 98% of bacteria from water, while a higher removal of bacteria (up to 100%) was achieved when CNTs-C18 was used under the same conditions

Malaria Parasitemia during delivery

Objectives: &nbsp;The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of plasmodium falciparum infection in parturient women in Central Sudan where malaria transmission is mesoendemic. The purpose of this paper is to find out the prevalenceof malaria parasitemia and the risk of anemia among parturient women and to suggest appropriate strategies to lower their prevalence rates. Methods: &nbsp;This prospective study was conducted at Medani Teaching Hospital, Sudan a tertiary regional referral center, during the period January 1997 through to December 1997. All cases were admitted during labor to the delivery room and were clinically suspected to have malaria. History, examination and investigations were carried out on all patients. Results: The total number of patients enrolled in this study was 550, amounting to 14.9% of all women (N=3,687) who delivered during the study period. The prevalence of malaria parasitemia was 58.9% (N=550) while prevalence of anemia (defined as hemoglobulin&nbsp; &nbsp;….9.0 g/dl) was 24.1% the mean hemoglobuin levels in patients with positive and negative malaria parasitemia was 9.72+ 1.62 and 9.85+ 1.60 g/dl. Statistically the difference in the mean hemoglobulin level was not significant, t=0.879, A significant negative correlation between parasite count in maternal blood and hemoglobulin level of the mother, was observed, where r=0.121 (P=0.032). out of 17 (3.3%) patients who had used chloroquine tablets for prophylaxis, 11patients still had positive parasitemia. Although there was a higher parasite count in those 11 patients, statistically the difference was not significance where P&lt; 0.0

Direct heat stress-induced effects on rumen fermentation characteristics and nutrients degradability in sheep pair-fed alfalfa hay

Aim of the study: To investigate the direct effect of heat stress on rumen fermentation characteristics and nutrients degradability of pair-fed rams to subsequently eliminate the confounding effects of dissimilar feed intake induced by heat stress exposure.Area of study: Saudi Arabia.Material and methods: Five rumen-cannulated desert rams (45 ± 1.63 kg body weight; 2–3 years of age) were placed individually in controlled climatic-chambers to be exposed to two successive periods. The 1st period was a control thermoneutral period (TN; 23.64 ± 0.14 °C; extended for 21 days) followed by a 2nd period of heat stress (HS; 44.26 ± 1.70 °C, for another 21 days). Each period was consisted of a temperature acclimation phase (7 days) and a data collection phase (14 days). Alfalfa hay was offered twice daily during both periods in a pair-fed manner (800 g DM per head and day).Main results: Exposing pair-fed desert rams to elevated ambient temperature had (p&lt;0.05) elevated their respiration rate and skin temperature, without noticeable (p&gt;0.05) changes in their rectal temperature. Most of the rumen fermentation characteristics and nutrients degradability were not affected by HS (p&gt;0.05). However, exposure to HS increased (p&lt;0.05) pre-feeding rumen total volatile fatty acids concentrations, pre-feeding molar proportion of acetate, and post-feeding rumen osmolality.Research highlights: HS had no direct effect on post-feeding rumen fermentation characteristics and nutrients degradability in desert sheep. This implies that strategic approaches to mitigate the adverse effects of HS have to be directed towards promoting feed intake and nutrients utilization under such conditions

Sexual violence in Iraq: Challenges for transnational feminist politics

The article discusses sexual violence by ISIS against women in Iraq, particularly Yezidi women, against the historical background of broader sexual and gender-based violence. It intervenes in feminist debates about how to approach and analyse sexual and wider gender-based violence in Iraq specifically and the Middle East more generally. Recognizing the significance of positionality, the article argues against dichotomous positions and for the need to look at both macrostructural configurations of power pertaining to imperialism, neoliberalism and globalization on the one hand, and localized expressions of patriarchy, religious interpretations and practices and cultural norms on the other hand. Finally, the article reflects on the question of what a transnational feminist solidarity might look like in relation to sexual violence by ISIS