Iterative Solution of Fractional Diffusion Equation Modelling Anomalous Diffusion

In this article, we study the fractional diffusion equation with spatial Riesz fractional derivative. The continuation of the solution of this fractional equation to the solution of the corresponding integer order equation is proved. The series solution is obtained based on properties of Riesz fractional derivative operator and utilizing the optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM). Numerical simulations are presented to validate the method and to show the effect of changing the fractional derivative parameter on the solution behavior

Curriculum development in the general secondary school in Egypt since 1952, with comparative reference to the secondary school in America and the grammar school in England.

This study attempts to analyse curriculum development in the\ud general secondary school in Egypt in its relation to the social,\ud economic and political changes that have taken place since 1952.\ud To accomplish this, an analysis of secondary school curricula in\ud two other countries, namely America and England, which have been\ud faced somewhat earlier than Egypt with some of Egypt's current\ud problems, is carried out. Thus in their relation to the social,\ud economic and political changes, the secondary school curricula in\ud the three countries are judged. In addition, in order to understand\ud the nature of these curricula and to characterise changes that have\ud taken place over the period being examined, the major curriculum\ud theories which have dominated educational practices in the world,\ud are identified.\ud Various socio-economic and political changes are associated\ud with the process of modernisation and domecratisation. The effect\ud of this kind of change on secondary school curricula in the three\ud countries takes two forms; first, the need for schools to supply\ud the labour market with skilled manpower flexible and adaptive to the\ud rapidly changing needs of society; second, the need for curricula to\ud provide opportunities for young people to learn the skills needed for\ud making democratic decisions and for participating actively in their\ud society's affairs.\ud Education at secondary level in the three countries has responded\ud (in different degrees) to these demands at mainly organisational level.\ud However, the pragmatic curriculum in America has been geared, to some\ud extent, to these demands. But the same did not occur with the\ud essentialist curriculum in England nor particularly with the\ud encyclopaedic curriculum in Egypt.\ud Thus, problem analysis and its intellectualisation is the subject\ud of Chapter 1. The analysis of contextual variables or causes in the\ud three countries, America, England and Egypt, is carried out in Chapters\ud 2, 4 and 6, respectively. Then, in Chapters 3, 5 and 7, the analysis\ud of curricula in the three countries is carried out. Finally, a\ud theoretical framework to close the gap between theory and practice in\ud the general secondary school in Egypt is suggested in Chapter 8

Hepcidin and iron status in chronic kidney disease

Hepcidin is a critical inhibitor of iron export frommacrophages, enterocytes, and hepatocytes. Given that itis filtered and degraded by the kidney, its elevated levelsin renal failure have been suggested to play a role in thedisordered iron metabolism of uremia. It is a smalldefensin-like peptide whose production by hepatocytes ismodulated in response to anemia, hypoxia, orinflammation. Hepcidin could also act as an indicator offunctional iron deficiency (FID) in chronic kidneydisease (CKD) patients. This study was performed toassess hepcidin and its correlations with renal function,iron status parameters {serum iron, serum ferritin,transferrin saturation (TSAT) and soluble transferrinreceptor (sTfR)}, inflammatory cytokines (IL-6&IFN-?)and inflammatory markers (CRP) in patients with CKDeither on conservative treatment or on maintenancehemodialysis (HD). Serum prohepcidin was higher inHD patients compared to controls and CKD patients. Inthe whole patient group, serum hepcidin correlatedsignificantly with hemoglobin (Hb), IL-6, creatinine,CRP, sTfR and urinary hepcidin. In HD groupprohepcidin correlated significantly with creatinine.Multiple regression analysis showed that prohepcidinwas most predicted by serum creatinine and CRP.Elevated prohepcidin levels in HD patients studied couldmainly be due to its accumulation in impaired renalfunction in addition to low-grade inflammation,frequently encountered in this population

Stellar Image Interpretation System using Artificial Neural Networks: Unipolar Function Case

An artificial neural network based system for interpreting astronomical images has been developed. The system is based on feed-forward Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) with error back-propagation learning. Knowledge about images of stars, cosmic ray events and noise found in images is used to prepare two sets of input patterns to train and test our approach. The system has been developed and implemented to scan astronomical digital images in order to segregate stellar images from other entities. It has been coded in C language for users of personal computers. An astronomical image of a star cluster from other objects is undertaken as a test case. The obtained results are found to be in very good agreement with those derived from the DAOPHOTII package, which is widely used in the astronomical community. It is proved that our system is simpler, much faster and more reliable. Moreover, no prior knowledge, or initial data from the frame to be analysed is required

The Differential Efficiency of Chlorella vulgaris and Oscillatoria sp. to Treat the Municipal Wastewater

The utilization of microalgae to treat wastewater becomes an alternative biological wastewater treatment technique worldwide because of its low cost and environmental clean. Chlorella vulgaris and Oscillatoria sp. were cultured in municipal wastewater under controlled laboratory conditions with continuous light illumination and aeration. Physical properties (pH, TDS and Salinity), and nutrient contents (ammonia, nitrite and total phosphorus)were measured in the raw wastewater. Growth rates of the cultured species in terms of optical densities and cell counts, nutrient salts removal efficiencies were measured during the experimental durations after; 24, 48, 72, 96 , 120 and 144hrs. Lipids, proteins and carbohydrates contents were also evaluated after 144hrs. The recorded optical density of Chlorella vulgaris was 0.188±0.01 at 680 nm and 0.17±0.01 at 750 nm after 24hrs then increased to 1.45±0.002 at 680nm and 1.43±0.01 at 750nm at the end of 120hrs, meanwhile the optical density of Oscillatoria sp. was increased from 0.132±0.01 at 680 nm and 0.102±0.01 at 750 nm after 24hrs to 1.054±0.004 at 680 nm and 0.99±0.002 at 750 nm at the end of 120hrs of the experiment. On the other hand, the cell count of Chlorella vulgaris was enriched from 6.8±2.2 cell/ml after 24hrs to 720±120 cell/ml at the end of 120h of the culturing. Overall, efficiencies of nutrients removal were 99.426%, 100% and 82.211% for ammonia, nitrite and total phosphorus respectively at the end of 120hrs of Chlorella vulgaris culturing, while Oscillatoria sp nutrient removal efficiencies recorded 98.125%, 100% and 84.718% for ammonia, Nitrite and total phosphorus respectively. Chlorella vulgaris biomass was estimated 26.66±7.5% lipid 35.1±1.6% protein and 29.34±3.25% carbohydrate, however Oscillatoria sp. biomass was estimated 11.76±0.79% lipids, 32.9±1.92% protein and 27.36±3.78% carbohydrates. Keywords: municipal Wastewater, Chlorella vulgaris, Oscillatoria sp., nutrient removal, biochemical parameters

Semianalytic Solution of Space-Time Fractional Diffusion Equation

We study the space-time fractional diffusion equation with spatial Riesz-Feller fractional derivative and Caputo fractional time derivative. The continuation of the solution of this fractional equation to the solution of the corresponding integer order equation is proved. The series solution of this problem is obtained via the optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM). Numerical simulations are presented to validate the method and to show the effect of changing the fractional derivative parameters on the solution behavior

Assessment of natural radionuclides and heavy metal concentrations in marine sediments in view of tourism activities in Hurghada city, northern Red Sea, Egypt

The specific activity of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra in marine sediment samples collected from National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF) and Safier Hotel area in Hurghada city (the most important regions in Egypt), were measured by gamma ray spectrometry using NaI(Tl) detector. The values of specific activity varied from 7 ± 1 Bq kg-1 to 53 ± 4 Bq kg-1, 6 ± 1 Bq kg-1 to 32 ± 6 Bq kg-1, and from 167 ± 11 Bq kg-1 to 1120 ± 63 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. The heavy metals have been measured and analysed by atomic absorption spectrometer. The major range values of heavy metals concentrations in marine sediment samples were: Cu (10.5-78.0 μg g-1), Zn (21-150 μg g-1), Pb (30-53 μg g-1), Cd (2.50-4.00 μg g-1), Fe (5100-13150 μg g-1), Mn (118-298 μg g-1), Ni (17-36 μg g-1) and Co (16-18 μg g-1). The total organic matter (TOC) and carbonates (CaCo3) distribution have been measured at some locations. Also, the frequency distribution and the value of (232Th/226Ra), (232Th/40K) and (226Ra/40K) ratio for all measured samples were determined. Additionally, evaluations have been made of the radiological hazards and the results are diagrammed by Surfer program in maps. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2019

Some New Exact Solutions of Jacobian Elliptic Functions in Nonlinear Physics Problem

Abstract:An extended mapping method with symbolic computation is developed to obtain some new periodic wave solutions in terms of Jacobin elliptic function for nonlinear elastic rod equation arising in physics.As a result,many exact travelling wave solutions are obtained which include Jacobian elliptic functions solutions,combined Jacobian elliptic functions solutions and triangular function solutions.Solutions in the limiting cases have also been studied.It is shown that the mapping method provides a very effective and powerful mathematical tool for solving nonlinear evolution equations in physics

Radiation Hazards and the Cancer Risk Assessments in the Sediments of Timsah Lake, Egypt

Timsah Lake is one of the most fish productive lakes in Egypt. It is located at the midpoint of Suez Canal with surface area of about 16 km2. The lake receives about 833,000 m3daily of wastewater and sewage wastes from agriculture, industry and domestic drains. The activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides; 238U, 232Th and 40K were measured using gamma-ray spectrophotometer at 24 stations covering the whole area of the lake and the Western Bay. The average activities of 238U, 232Th and 40K were; 21.66 ± 11.20, 21.42 ± 11.68 and 200.30 ± 141.10 Bq/kg respectively. The averages of radiation hazard parameters; the absorbed and effective dose rate (D), the annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), radium equivalent (Raeq), the external hazard index (Hex) and the representative level index (Iγr) were; 30.85 nGy h-1, 37.84 μSv/y, 67.02 Bq/kg, 0.18 (lower than the unity) and 0.23 respectively. The distribution patterns showed significant high variations in the radionuclides activities and the hazard parameters between the investigated stations. The Western Bay stations and the path zone interlinked between the bay and the lake showed the high radionuclide activities and high radiation hazards indicating to the sewage wastes and wastewater runoff are the essential sources of the high natural radionuclide activities and radiation hazards. The average of the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was 132.43 × 10-6significantly lower than the worldwide average. The highest recorded level of ELCR was reached 308.38 × 10-6observed in the interlink zone between the bay and the lake away from fishing stations and recreational zones. Statistical analyses indicated that the radionuclides 238U and 232Th are the sources of the elevated radiation hazards with nearly equal intensities. © 2020. All Rights Reserved

Molecular pathogenicity of 1-nonadecene and l-lactic acid, unique metabolites in radicular cysts and periapical granulomas

Recently, 1-nonadecene and l-lactic acid were identified as unique metabolites in radicular cysts and periapical granuloma, respectively. However, the biological roles of these metabolites were unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the inflammatory and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) effects of 1-nonadecene, and the inflammatory and collagen precipitation effects of l-lactic acid on both periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PdLFs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). PdLFs and PBMCs were treated with 1-nonadecene and l-lactic acid. Cytokines’ expression was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and macrophage polarization markers were measured using flow cytometry. The collagen, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, and released cytokines were measured using collagen assay, western blot, and Luminex assay, respectively. In PdLFs, 1-nonadecene enhances inflammation through the upregulation of some inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12A, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) α. 1-Nonadecene also induced MET through the upregulation of E-cadherin and the downregulation of N-cadherin in PdLFs. 1-Nonadecene polarized macrophages to a pro-inflammatory phenotype and suppressed their cytokines’ release. l-lactic acid exerted a differential impact on the inflammation and proliferation markers. Intriguingly, l-lactic acid induced fibrosis-like effects by enhancing collagen synthesis, while inhibiting MMP-1 release in PdLFs. These results provide a deeper understanding of 1-nonadecene and l-lactic acid’s roles in modulating the microenvironment of the periapical area. Consequently, further clinical investigation can be employed for target therapy