Synthesis and Spectral Analysis of Some Metal Ions Complexes with Mixed Ligands of Schiff Base and 1, 10-Phenanthroline

The free Schiff base ligand (HL1) is prepared by being mixed with the co-ligand 1, 10-phenanthroline (L2). The product then is reacted with metal ions: (Cr+3, Fe+3, Co+2, Ni+2, Cu+2 and Cd+2) to get new metal ion complexes. The ligand is prepared and its metal ion complexes are characterized by physic-chemical spectroscopic techniques such as: FT-IR, UV-Vis, spectra, mass spectrometer, molar conductivity, magnetic moment, metal content, chloride content and microanalysis (C.H.N) techniques. The results show the formation of the free Schiff base ligand (HL1). The fragments of the prepared free Schiff base ligand are identified by the mass spectrometer technique. All the analysis of ligand and its metal complexes are in good agreement with the theoretical values indicating the purity of Schiff base ligand and the metal complexes. From the above data, the molecular structures for all the metal complexes are proposed to be octahedra

Obituary announcements in Jordanian and British newspapers: A cross-cultural overview

This paper examines the socio-cultural practices surrounding the use of obituary announcements in two different cultures. Specifically, it investigates the structural and linguistic features as well as the euphemistic expressions related to death in obituaries placed in Jordanian and British newspapers. It aims at exploration of the impact of some sociological factors on the form and content of the obituaries as well as finding out the communicative functions conveyed by this particular means of communication. The data comprise three hundred (300) death announcements evenly distributed by the two societies under investigation. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The paper reveals clear-cut differences between the two sets of obituaries in terms of structure, language and function. It has also been observed that most of these differences are mainly attributable to socio-cultural distinctions between the two societies. This study elicited a number of significant results which are full of insights to sociolinguistic theory and which lead to a better understanding of the interrelated relationship between language and culture.This paper examines the socio-cultural practices surrounding the use of obituary announcements in two different cultures. Specifically, it investigates the structural and linguistic features as well as the euphemistic expressions related to death in obituaries placed in Jordanian and British newspapers. It aims at exploration of the impact of some sociological factors on the form and content of the obituaries as well as finding out the communicative functions conveyed by this particular means of communication. The data comprise three hundred (300) death announcements evenly distributed by the two societies under investigation. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The paper reveals clear-cut differences between the two sets of obituaries in terms of structure, language and function. It has also been observed that most of these differences are mainly attributable to socio-cultural distinctions between the two societies. This study elicited a number of significant results which are full of insights to sociolinguistic theory and which lead to a better understanding of the interrelated relationship between language and culture

Robust Multiple Model Adaptive Control for Dynamic Positioning of Quadrotor Helicopter System

The quadrotor control has been one of the benchmark control problems. It is considered as an under-actuated, multivariable and high nonlinear system due to its dynamics, having strong coupling between translation and angular motion and affected by external disturbances associated with flight environment. Therefore, there is a need to design a robust control that can keep up with sudden changes and find better tracking performance against modeling error and uncertainties. In this work, an adaptive state feedback control method denoted as Classical Multiple Model Adaptive Control (CMMAC) has been implemented. This method embodies in its structure a bank of filters. Kalman filter (KF) has been used where each filter has been designed for a specific value of an equilibrium point and set of controllers, which was provided by the LQ-servo design. Comparisons of the performance of a quadrotor system between control designs for single Kalman filter with CMMAC for the same value of uncertainty in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) have been presented. CMMAC meets better performance of tracking design for all variations; the performance of the controlled quadrotor has been improved for the linear and angular coordinates 100%, as compared to the performance when using one Kalman filter

Aspects of the Phonology of English Loanwords in Jordanian Urban Arabic: A Distinctive Feature, Moraic, and Metrical Stress Analysis

The aim of this study is to explore which Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speakers use English loanwords more and how those loanwords get adapted. Two research questions were addressed in the study: Firstly, what phonological repair strategies do English loanwords undergo in the speech of Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speaking female university students? Secondly, is there an association between frequent use of English and the use of English loanwords and phonological repair strategies in the speech of the respondents? A verbal questionnaire was used to collect the data from two groups of respondents; respondents who specialize in English and those who do not. The data consist of transcripts of audio-recordings of 60 respondents. The data were analysed in the framework of three theories: Odden’s (2005) presentation of Distinctive Feature Theory, Hayes’ (1989) Moraic Theory, and Hayes’ (1995) Metrical Stress Theory. The first theory dealt with segmental issues in the data, the second theory helped analyse the moraic structures of the data, and the third helped capture the metrical structures of the data and lexical stress shift. The findings show that the fashion in which the phonological repair strategies of syncope, epenthesis, glottal stop [ʔ] prosthesis, closed syllable shortening, de-clustering, vowel lengthening, vowel shortening, gemination, and word primary stress shift occur in loanwords has been clearly defined in the Phonological Repair Principle (PRP). According to the PRP, which has been proposed in the present study, repairs occur at the segmental level, which is defined by the Prosodic Hierarchy (PH) as the lowest phonological level, in favour of satisfying phonological constraints at higher phonological levels in the PH. It has been found that frequent use of English and the use of both loanwords and the strategies of consonantal substitution and epenthesis are correlated. There is a clear difference in the percentages of the pronunciations of the loanwords and the use of the strategies in the speech of the two groups; the respondents who specialise in English are more likely to use the loanwords and to maintain English phonemes and final clusters in the loanwords than the respondents who do not. According to the Substitution Optimality Principle (SOP), which has been proposed in the study, the strategy of consonantal substitution applies in a predictable fashion: a consonantal phoneme constitutes an optimal substitute if it shares more phonological features with the foreign one than does any other consonantal phoneme; redundant phonological features do not count. In this way, the optimal substitute for the foreign consonantal phoneme has been clearly defined. The study has drawn on a number of distinctive-feature-based rules, and moraic and metrical rules, which are related to the strategies that the loanwords undergo. The findings of the present study have been discussed in relation to other previous work on loanword phonology, and evaluation of the present study and previous research literature has been provided. The findings have added to the literature of loanword phonology and helped fill gaps. Recommendations for further studies have been suggested

Seroprevalence of Besnoitia besnoiti in Assiut Governorate, Egypt

Background: Bovine besnoitiosis is a widespread disease caused by Besnoitia besnoiti with significant economic losses in cattle production. There is a lack of knowledge about it in Egypt. Aim: This study was conducted to detect the seroprevalence of B. besnoiti in cattle and to find out the presence of the disease and the most important symptoms of besnoitiosis in cattle in Assiut Governorate, Egypt. Methods: A total of 190 cattle from Assiut city and its different rural centers were examined clinically and serologically for the presence of B. besnoiti. The serological examination was carried out by using the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit in serum (ID.Vet Innovative Diagnostics Louis Pasteur. Grabeis, France). The results were analyzed statistically using the chi-square test to assess the association between seroprevalence and different parameters (age, sex, season, housing, and health status). Result: Thirteen cattle were seropositive for B. besnoiti by ELISA and showed symptoms of besnoitiosis. Acute symptoms included fever, tachycardia, edematous swellings of intermandibular space and limbs with polyarthritis, diarrhea, ruminal atony, and enlarged lymph nodes. The chronic symptoms included cough, mastitis, exophthalmia, cysts on the sclera and conjunctiva, nodules in the skin, and alopecia associated with tick infestation. The overall seroprevalence of B. besnoiti was 22.1%. Regarding sex, the seroprevalence was higher for females 34.6% than for males 6.97%. While, according to age susceptibility, the seroprevalence was highest (50.9%) with age ≥5 years, followed by age >1 to <5 years (14.6%), and only one animal of age ≤1 year was recorded at 2.2%. Concerning seasonal variations, the seroprevalence was highest in spring 42.9%, followed by autumn 29.3%, winter 13.6%, and summer 7.5%. Whereas, according to the housing system, it was 60% and 8.6% in farm and household rearing, respectively. Depending on the health status, the seroprevalence was 21.6% of clinically healthy and 23.2% of clinically diseased cattle. Conclusion: The existence of B. besnoiti antibodies has been demonstrated in clinical and subclinical infected cattle in Assiut Governorate, Egypt. The ELISA test is considered to be a good diagnostic method for detecting infection. Furthermore, additional studies are essential to minimize and prevent the spread of infection

EFFECT OF PLANT DENSITY AND SOME VITAMINS, AS WELL AS, ACTIVE YEAST ON SWEET BASIL (OCIMUM BASILICUM) PLANT. A- VEGETATIVE GROWTH CHARACTERS

This investigation was conducted to investigate the effect of plant density (145, 105, 80 and 65 plants/14.5 m2) and some vitamins (vit. B1, vit. C, vit. E) and active yeast on vegetative growth traits of Ocimum basilicum plants. Results showed that decreasing plant density led to increase number of branches/plant/cut, leaf area/plant/cut, herb fresh and dry weights/plant/cut and yield of herb (fresh and dry) per plant per season, while, plant height was decreased. Moreover, the herb fresh and dry weights/fed were increased with the highest density (145 plants/14.5 m2). All used treatments of vitamins and active yeast significantly increased all previous characters of vegetative growth. Active yeast followed by collection of vitamins (vit. B1 + vit. C + vit. E) resulted in the highest values in this concern. All vegetative growth characters per plant were the most effective treatments on the lowest plant density × active yeast or vit. B1 + vit. C + vit. E while, the highest values per fed were obtained with higher density in combination with active yeast or vit. B1 + vit. C + vit. E

Technology, privacy, and user opinions of COVID-19 mobile apps for contact tracing : systematic search and content analysis

Background: Many countries across the globe have released their own COVID-19 contact tracing apps. This has resulted in the proliferation of several apps that used a variety of technologies. With the absence of a standardized approach used by the authorities, policy makers, and developers, many of these apps were unique. Therefore, they varied by function and the underlying technology used for contact tracing and infection reporting. Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze most of the COVID-19 contact tracing apps in use today. Beyond investigating the privacy features, design, and implications of these apps, this research examined the underlying technologies used in contact tracing apps. It also attempted to provide some insights into their level of penetration and to gauge their public reception. This research also investigated the data collection, reporting, retention, and destruction procedures used by each of the apps under review. Methods: This research study evaluated 13 apps corresponding to 10 countries based on the underlying technology used. The inclusion criteria ensured that most COVID-19-declared epicenters (ie, countries) were included in the sample, such as Italy. The evaluated apps also included countries that did relatively well in controlling the outbreak of COVID-19, such as Singapore. Informational and unofficial contact tracing apps were excluded from this study. A total of 30,000 reviews corresponding to the 13 apps were scraped from app store webpages and analyzed. Results: This study identified seven distinct technologies used by COVID-19 tracing apps and 13 distinct apps. The United States was reported to have released the most contact tracing apps, followed by Italy. Bluetooth was the most frequently used underlying technology, employed by seven apps, whereas three apps used GPS. The Norwegian, Singaporean, Georgian, and New Zealand apps were among those that collected the most personal information from users, whereas some apps, such as the Swiss app and the Italian (Immuni) app, did not collect any user information. The observed minimum amount of time implemented for most of the apps with regard to data destruction was 14 days, while the Georgian app retained records for 3 years. No significant battery drainage issue was reported for most of the apps. Interestingly, only about 2% of the reviewers expressed concerns about their privacy across all apps. The number and frequency of technical issues reported on the Apple App Store were significantly more than those reported on Google Play; the highest was with the New Zealand app, with 27% of the reviewers reporting technical difficulties (ie, 10% out of 27% scraped reviews reported that the app did not work). The Norwegian, Swiss, and US (PathCheck) apps had the least reported technical issues, sitting at just below 10%. In terms of usability, many apps, such as those from Singapore, Australia, and Switzerland, did not provide the users with an option to sign out from their apps. Conclusions: This article highlighted the fact that COVID-19 contact tracing apps are still facing many obstacles toward their widespread and public acceptance. The main challenges are related to the technical, usability, and privacy issues or to the requirements reported by some users

EFFECT OF PLANT DENSITY AND SOME VITAMINS, AS WELL AS, ACTIVE YEAST ON SWEET BASIL (OCIMUM BASILICUM) PLANT. B- ESSENTIAL OIL PRODUCTION AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

The main object of this study was to determine the effect of plant density and some vitamins and active yeast on essential oil production and some chemical constituents of sweet basil. The experiment was conducted during two successive seasons of 2014 and 2015 at the ornamental laboratory and nursery, Fac. Agric., Minia Univ. Results showed that by increasing plant densities. The oil production decreased/plant and increased/fed. Also, the lower density increased pigments and NPK % elements. All used vitamins and active yeast treatments increased essential oil production (oil % and yield). The collection of vitamins increased essential oil % and pigments content, while active yeast treatment increased essential oil yield and the percentages of N, P and K %. The best interaction treatments for essential oil production/plant were two higher plant distance (80 and 65 plants/14.5 m2) in combination with active yeast or 65 plants/14.5 m2 × vit. B1 + vit. C + vit. E. While, the highest yield of essential oil/fed were obtained with higher plant density (145 plants/14.5 m2) in combination with active yeast or vit. B1 + vit. C + vit. E

Alu-repeat polymorphism in the tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) gene, seminal t-PA concentration, and male fertility impairment: A case-control study

Background: Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a protein involved in the fibrinolytic system that catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen into the active plasmin. The activity of t-PA is controlled by plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. t-PA has crucial functions during spermatogenesis. One polymorphism was reported for t-PA gene, either the presence of a 300-bp Alu-repeat (Alu+) or its absence (Alu−). Objective: The current work aimed at studying the association between Alu polymorphism in the t-PA gene and male infertility. Materials and Methods: Using polymerase chain reaction on genomic DNA isolated from the blood of 79 participants, a region polymorphic for Alu element insertion in t-PA gene was amplified. In addition, total t-PA concentration, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1/t-PA complex concentration, and t-PA activity in seminal plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The results indicate that the percentage of infertile participants (n = 50) who were homozygous for t-PA Alu insertion (Alu+/+), heterozygous Alu+/− or homozygous for t-PA Alu deletion (Alu−/−) did not change significantly (p = 0.43, 0.81, and 0.85, respectively) when compared with the control participants (n = 29). On the other hand, a significant decrease (p = 0.0001) of t-PA total concentration in seminal plasma was observed in the infertile group in comparison with the control group. However, the results indicate that there is no association between the t-PA Alu different genotypes and the total t-PA seminal concentration in the infertile group when compared to the control group (p = 0.63). Conclusion: Data obtained from the current study does not support an association between t-PA Alu polymorphism and t-PA seminal concentration or male infertility. Key words: Alu element, Male infertility, Semen, Spermatogenesis, t-PA

Optimization of Batch Conditions for COD and Ammonia Nitrogen Removal Using cockle shells Through Response Surface Methodology

The optimal conditions for the reduction of COD and NH3-N using cockle shells (CS) from a stabilised landfill effluent were analyzed. The influence of two variables (adsorbent dosage and pH) were analysed through the application of response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). Quadratic models were developed for the removals of COD and NH3-N parameters. The optimum conditions for removal of 65.6% and 53.6% for COD and NH3-N respectively was achieved at pH 6.34, adsorbent dosage of 20.21 g having 0.888 desirability value. The model F-value obtained for NH3-N removal Prob. > F value of 0.0001 with F-value of 104.21 was obtained. Similarly the Prob. > F value of < 0.0001 for COD with F-value of 82.74 was obtained, these P-values confirmed the significance of the model. The predicted response versus the experimental response depicted that the experimental data were relatively close to the predicted data. Thus, the generated models significantly enclosed the correlation between the process variables and the response.   GMT Detect languageAfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSesothoSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu AfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSesothoSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu         Text-to-speech function is limited to 200 characters  Options : History : Feedback : DonateClos