Al-Jazeera (Arabic) satellite television: a platform for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe Qatari-funded channel, Al-Jazeera Arabic (AJA) has been subject to criticism as being in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt. The approach taken by AJA Satellite Television to represent the MB, the Mubarak regime and other political actors in Egypt, during its coverage of four key electoral moments - before and after the 2011‘revolution’- is reviewed in this research. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is applied to study the constructive effects of AJA’s language in an interpretive way (Parker & Burman, 1993). The effect of the language used by two predominant AJA TV programmes, Without Borders بلا حدود and Opposite Direction الاتجاه المعاكس has been investigated and a number of current and former AJA journalists have been interviewed. Van Dijk’s Ideological Square and Pier Robinson’s Framing Model, in conjunction with Chouliaraki’s Three Rhetorical Strategies (Verbal Mode, Agency and Time Space) have been used as analysis tools to study the process of AJA’s representation of different political ideologies: the MB’s Islamic ideology and the Mubarak regime’s secular ideology. Van Dijk’s Ideological Square helps to identify the boundaries between ‘us’ (the good) and ‘them’ (the bad), and to classify people according to their support of specific ideology against another - the ‘in-group’ or the ‘outgroup’. AJA positively framed the Islamic MB movement on the basis that the group and its members were democratic, Islamic and victims, whereas it negatively framed the Mubarak regime and the Military Council in Egypt as repressive, secular and villains. The assigned role of different actors (including; the Egyptian people and opposition parties) in AJA TV programmes changed from one electoral moment to another. While the Mubarak regime, its supporters and the Military Council were represented as the ‘out-group’ at all times, the role allocated to the Egyptian people and the opposition shifted between the ‘in-group’ and the ‘out-group’, depending on the political mood they held towards the MB

Speciation, bioavailability and human health risk of heavy metals in soil and spinach (amaranthus spp.) in Kano Metropolis, Northwestern-Nigeria

The rapid population growth and industrialization affected the environment momentously and one of the most noteworthy impacts is the toxicological effect of toxic chemical pollutants. The noxiousness of toxic heavy metals to ecosystem rests on their biochemical form therefore, measuring their chemical status gives more information than the determination of the concentration. This research aimed at assessing the chemical forms of heavy metals and ecological effects. Eight soil and spinach samples were collected using point composite sampling method. The soil was analyzed using five stages of sequential extraction methods. The results were subjected to statistical analysis to carry out a descriptive and inferential statistic. The results revealed that significant fraction of the heavy metals exist in carbonate bond form (63.57%) which is accessible to plant, then residual (11.46%), Fe – Mn oxide (9.39%), organically bond (8.12%) and, exchangeable form (7.53%), furthermore, Ni (100.02 mg kg-1) and, Pb (29.02 mg kg-1) have the highest concentration in the spinach. The bioavailability of chemical pollutants ranked in this direction as: Ni > Cd > Pb > Zn & Cu > Cr. The high potential of non-carcinogenic effect by Ni and the carcinogenic effect in the area due to elevated values of risk proportion and risk guide. The available form of heavy metals is present in substantial proportion and consequently, there is serious threat with regard to the carcinogenic effect

An unbiased and efficient assessment of excitability of sensory neurons for analgesic drug discovery

Alleviating chronic pain is challenging, due to lack of drugs that effectively inhibit nociceptors without off target effects on motor or central neurons. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) contain nociceptive and non-nociceptive neurons. Drug screening on cultured DRG neurons, rather than cell lines, allows the identification of drugs most potent on nociceptors with no effects on non-nociceptors (as a proxy for unwanted side effects on CNS and motor neurons). However, screening using DRG neurons is currently a low-throughput process and there is a need for assays to speed this process for analgesic drug discovery. We previously showed that veratridine elicits distinct response profiles in sensory neurons. Here we show evidence that a veratridine-based calcium assay allows an unbiased and efficient assessment of a drug effect on nociceptors (targeted neurons) and non-nociceptors (non-targeted neurons). We confirmed the link between the oscillatory profile and nociceptors; and the slow-decay profile and non-nociceptors using three transgenic mouse lines of known pain phenotypes. We used the assay to show that blockers for Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 channels, which are validated targets for analgesics, affect non-nociceptors at concentrations needed to effectively inhibit nociceptors. However, a combination of low doses of both blockers had an additive effect on nociceptors without a significant effect on non-nociceptors, indicating that the assay can also be used to screen for combinations of existing or novel drugs for the greatest selective inhibition of nociceptors

SCALE INSECTS (HEMIPTERA COCCOIDEA) ON MULBERRY TREES IN TURKEY

In Turkey commonly cultivated mulberry species are Morus alba L., M. nigra L., and M. rubra L (Moraceae). Mulberry fruits are widely consumed freshly or as traditional products such as mulberry molasses and mulberry dried fruit pulp. Mulberry leaves are used for sericulture. In this study, scale pests of mulberry trees were investigated mainly in Ankara and some other regions in Turkey. Eight scale insect species namely Ceroplastes japonicus Green, C. rusci (L.), Neopulvinaria innumerabilis (Rathvon), Parthenolecanium corni (Bouché) (Coccidae), Pseudaulacaspis pentagona Targioni-Tozzetti (Diaspididae), Phenacoccus aceris (Signoret), Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) (Pseudococcidae) were found on the Morus spp. P. pentagona was the most common and important pest species of the mulberry trees in research area. Populations of C.japonicus, N. innumerabilis, and P.comstocki are found at very high levels in some local gardens

The Black Book of Sudan by The Seekers of Truth and Justice (Review)

The Black Book of Sudan is reviewed

Trauma outcome of road traffic accident at UAE

Road traffic accident (RTA) is of growing public health importance worldwide contributing significantly to the global disease burden. Road traffic accidents are a major cause of both internal and external wounds, many of which cannot be treated with simple dressings. There is paucity of published data on road traffic accident in environment of UAE. This study was carried out to describe the injury characteristics and outcome of road traffic accident victims in UAE setting and establishment of treatment protocols. Materials ad methods: A total of 100 road traffic crash victims were studied from November 2000 to November 2006, and recorded in Um Aquin hospital UAE depended on the R.T.A Form data on age, sex, nationality, the state of patient in the street, the region of trauma, the nature of injuries, treatment, and outcome were obtained from the registry. The results: Road traffic accident constitute a major public health problem in AUE setting and contribute significantly to unacceptably high morbidity and mortality, about 84% male age between 21-31 year old about 29%, occurred in head and neck 43% for one regen 61%, about 81.82 treated surgically with mortality rate 12%. Conclusion: Injury is the leading cause of death among young adults using of motor vehicles is growing in UAE a particular concern in emerging nations where increasing urbanization, overcrowding and scant regard for the 'rules of the road' are the standard. Keywords: Road traffic accident, trauma, injur

An investigation into the current utilisation and prospective of renewable energy resources and technologies in Libya

With the increase in energy demand and the international drive to reduce carbon emission from fossil fuel, there has been a drive in many oil-rich countries to diversify their energy portfolio and resources. Libya is currently interested in utilising its renewable energy resources in order to reduce the financial and energy dependency on oil reserves. This paper investigates the current utilisation and the future of renewable energy in Libya. Interviews have been conducted with managers, consultants and decision makers from different government organisations including energy policy makers, energy generation companies and major energy consumers. The results indicate that Libya is rich in renewable energy resources but in urgent need of a more comprehensive energy strategy and detailed implementation including reasonable financial and educational investment in the renewable energy sector

Speciation of heavy metals in the sidments of Gubi dam, Bauchi state, Nigeria

Speciation of heavy metals in the sediments of Gubi Dam in Bauchi, Nigeria was carried out between December, 2001 and March, 2002. The mean total concentrations showed that Tatimari tributary has high Fe, Zn, and Mn, confirming it source and path. The spillway result suggest intensive farming activity along the dam runway. However, the physio-chemical forms of Fe, Pb, and Cr indicate that these metals are associated in high concentration with the mineral matrix of the sediment, as such it is most unlikely to become biologically available. High levels of Cu, Cd, Zn, Mn, Co and Ni are associated with the exchangeable carbonate bound fractions, indicating that they are in potentially available forms and many pose serious problems to the dam ecosystem.KEY WORDS: Sediments, Speciation, Heavy metals, Gubi Dam, Nigeri