Evaluation of RSAF Airworthiness and Applicability

This research focuses on evaluation of Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) airworthiness processes and their applicability. The current RSAF airworthiness process is in accordance with internationally recognized best practice in the area of military aviation, this is achieved by benchmarking against European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. Airworthiness policy for the RSAF is developed on the basis that it will be as civil as possible and as military as necessary. For the purpose of this research, the current RSAF airworthiness process will be benchmarked against the United States Air Force (USAF) airworthiness process. That can be done by understanding the cur- rent airworthiness process for RSAF and USAF, types of airworthiness certificates and determining the commonality and differences between both processes including the initial airworthiness, continued airworthiness and continuing airworthiness and compare the organizational structure, planning, execution, and the final products of airworthiness process. The main difference between RSAF and USAF in organizational structure is the existence of the Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA) and Delegated Technical Airworthiness Authority (DTA) in the USAF, whereas in the current RSAF organizational structure the TAA and DTA do not exist. As consequence, some of the products of these organizations are missing in the RSAF. This research suggests that those techniques can help to improve the airworthiness process in the Royal Saudi Air Force

Enhancement Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in Wireless Communication Network by Using PTS (Partial Transmit Sequences) Technique

Wireless telecommunications has been significantly growing due to the need of high data rate during the last decade. In this paper, OFDM with different scenarios are experimentally tested and the results demonstrate the strengths of OFDM technique as a key technology that fulfills the need of high data rate and high performance in wireless communication. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the complexity of OFDM technology can be reduced and the capacity is increased by using Partial Transmit Sequences (PTS) method. This method shows the best performance of OFDM where increased capacity, coverage, and reliability are clearly evident from the test results presented in this paper

The Environmental Changes And The Adoption Of New Strategies In The International Organizations: A Study On The Islamic Development Bank

In 1975 the Islamic Development Bank was established in Jeddah-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to foster economic development and social progress of the member countries and the Muslim communities in non-member countries in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shariah. Pada tahun 1975, Bank Pembangunan Islam (IDB) telah ditubuhkan di Jeddah – Kerajaan Arab Saudi untuk pembangunan ekonomi dan perkembangan sosial bagi negara-negara anggota dan komuniti Muslim di negara-negara bukan anggota selaras dengan prinsip-prinsip Shari’ah Islam

Perturbations in Lineage Specification of Granulosa and Theca Cells May Alter Corpus Luteum Formation and Function

Anovulation is a major cause of infertility, and it is the major leading reproductive disorder in mammalian females. Without ovulation, an oocyte is not released from the ovarian follicle to be fertilized and a corpus luteum is not formed. The corpus luteum formed from the luteinized somatic follicular cells following ovulation, vasculature cells, and immune cells is critical for progesterone production and maintenance of pregnancy. Follicular theca cells differentiate into small luteal cells (SLCs) that produce progesterone in response to luteinizing hormone (LH), and granulosa cells luteinize to become large luteal cells (LLCs) that have a high rate of basal production of progesterone. The formation and function of the corpus luteum rely on the appropriate proliferation and differentiation of both granulosa and theca cells. If any aspect of granulosa or theca cell luteinization is perturbed, then the resulting luteal cell populations (SLC, LLC, vascular, and immune cells) may be reduced and compromise progesterone production. Thus, many factors that affect the differentiation/lineage of the somatic cells and their gene expression profiles can alter the ability of a corpus luteum to produce the progesterone critical for pregnancy. Our laboratory has identified genes that are enriched in somatic follicular cells and luteal cells through gene expression microarray. This work was the first to compare the gene expression profiles of the four somatic cell types involved in the follicle-to-luteal transition and to support previous immunofluorescence data indicating theca cells differentiate into SLCs while granulosa cells become LLCs. Using these data and incorporating knowledge about the ways in which luteinization can go awry, we can extrapolate the impact that alterations in the theca and granulosa cell gene expression profiles and lineages could have on the formation and function of the corpus luteum. While interactions with other cell types such as vascular and immune cells are critical for appropriate corpus luteum function, we are restricting this review to focus on granulosa, theca, and luteal cells and how perturbations such as androgen excess and inflammation may affect their function and fertility

The ecotoxicology of carbon nanotubes in the marine environment

With their high aspect ratio, strength, light weight and electrical conductivity single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) provide properties of great interest to industry, and, consequently, are finding use in an ever increasing number of products and applications, which will eventually lead to their appearance in the environment. The toxicity of SWCNT, however, is controversial, mainly because of the inconsistency of results, owing to a lack of understanding of the behaviour of SWCNTs in environmental media. The present study explored the ecotoxicology of engineered SWCNTs and their interacton with other contaminants as well as their potential for trophic transfer. A series of co-contaminant experiments was performed to understand the interaction of SWCNTs with dissolved metals at low-level and non-toxic concentrations of both. The results showed that any nano-scale effects were negated by the tendency of uncoated SWCNTs to agglomerate in seawater. However, SWCNTs, in combination with natural organic matter (NOM), remained suspended for long enough to become available to filter-feeding mussels. A potentiating toxicological effect was observed, expressed as DNA strand breaks obtained using the comet assay and oxidative stress, on divalent metals afforded by negatively charged SWCNT agglomerates in seawater at concentrations as low as 5μg L-1. This is supported by the observation that SWCNTs alone were only toxic at concentrations ≥100μg L-1 and that the SWCNT-induced DNA damage was correlated with oxidative stress only in the absence of metals The potential for trophic transfer was assessd using the green algae (Tetraselmis suecica). Light microscopical observations, confirmed by SEM and Raman spectroscopy, showed that SWCNTs adhered to the external algal cell walls and TEM results suggested internaization. A direct effect of SWCNT exposure on the algae was a significant decrease in chlorophyll a concentrations and cell viability. Algea fed to mussels in the presence of SWCNTs led to a signifiacntly increased pseudofaeces production, suggesting selective feeding. However, histological sections of the mussel digestive gland following exposure showed evidence of SWCNTs containing algal and toxicological tests signs of DNA dmage and oxidative stress. In conclusion, the observed SWCNT-algal interaction may facilitate trophic transfer of SWCNTs up the food chain with potential consequences for human health. If these laboratory experiments are confirmed in the natural environment, the present results will have implications for the understanding of the role of carbon nanotubes in environmental metal dynamics, toxicology, and consequently, regulatory requirements

Design and Implementation of Metallic Waste Collection Robot

The accumulation of waste has become a problem in urban city dumps. There are different kinds of waste that affect our environment, for example metallic and plastic waste. Developing metallic waste collection robotic system is a big challenge. There is limited research available about robotic systems that specialize in the collection and processing of waste. In this paper we propose robotic system that can be used for metallic waste collection and processing. This robot is equipped with a metal detector, ultrasonic sensor, control and power unit, and actuators. This autonomous robot can perform tasks such as obstacle avoidance and metal detection

The Effectiveness of WebQuest Strategy in Developing the Academic Achievement and E-Communication of Students in the Education College

This study aimed to reveal the effectiveness of using the WebQuest Strategy in developing academic achievement of the mathematical concepts and the impact of this on developing electronic communication skills among female kindergarten students at the College of Education. Experimental methodology was used with a quasi- experimental design due to its suitability with the nature of the study. The study tools included an academic achievement test on specific topics to measure academic achievement in the mathematics concepts development course, and an observation tool to measure electronic communication skills (ECO). The study tools were applied to a random sample of female kindergarten students at the College of Education (60) female students, were divided into two groups: an experimental group (32) female students studied topics according to the WebQuest Strategy, and a control group (28) female students studied the specific topics according to the traditional method. The results showed that using the WebQuest Strategy has an impact on developing both academic achievement for the course developing mathematical concepts and electronic communication skills. The study presented a set of recommendations, the most important of which is the necessity of employing the WebQuest Strategy in teaching other courses in university education through a reliable education platform, such as Blackboard. The study presented a set of future research proposals