What Is An Invention? A Review Of The Literature On Patentable Subject Matter

This work is a critical review of the literature on patentable subject matter. It examines the central feature of modern patent law—the “invention”—at an international and comparative level. As with most codified terms intended to have wide-ranging, prospective applicability, it is usually left undefined, or if defined, is usually drafted broadly and permissively. Despite the hallmarks of patentability (namely, novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability), some courts1 and academic commentators have questioned whether there still needs to be an invention in the first place, before one even considers its patentability

Dielectric properties of Cu0.5Tl0.5Ba2Ca2Cu3O10-δ superconductor added with nano-Fe2O3

A series of high-temperature superconducting samples of type Cu0.5Tl0.5Ba2Ca2Cu3O10-δ, (Cu0.5Tl0.5)-1223, added with nano-Fe2O3 (0.0- 1.0 wt. %) was prepared by a solid-state reaction technique via short time preparation procedure and under ambient pressure. The prepared samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) for phase analysis and microstructure examination. The volume fraction results indicated that nano-Fe2O3 addition was significant in enhancing the formation rate of the (Cu0.5Tl0.5)-1223 phase, especially for x ≤ 0.2 wt. % samples. The electrical resistivity of the prepared samples was measured by the conventional four-probe technique from room temperature down to the zero superconducting transition temperature (T0). An increase in the superconducting temperature, Tc, is observed up to x = 0.2 wt. %, followed by a systematic decrease with increasing nano-Fe2O3 addition. The dielectric constants (ε\u27 and ε\u27\u27), dissipation factor (tan Δ) and real ac conductivity (σ\u27ac) were investigated as a function of temperature (113- 293 K) and frequency (102- 106 Hz). The results clarified that all these dielectric parameters show a strong dispersion with temperatures at low and moderate frequency ranges. Moreover, they are strongly dependent on nano-Fe2O3 addition. Furthermore, the high content of nano-Fe2O3 addition (x = 1.0 wt. %) enhanced ε\u27 and reduced tan D of (Cu0.5Tl0.5)-1223 phase, which is a desirable demand for practical applications

SYNERGISTIC CYTOTOXIC EFFECT OF STATINS AND BISPHOSPHONATES ON SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA CELL LINE

Objective: The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro cytotoxic effect of simvastatin (sv) and alendronate (aln) on squamous cell carcinoma cell line (Hep-2 cells).Methods: Hep-2 cells were divided into four groups; Control group where cells were cultured in the routine culture medium. Alendronate Group (A) consisting of cells cultured in aln in its IC 50. Simvastatin Group(S) cultured in sv in its IC 50. And finally, a combined group (A+S) comprising cells cultured in combined IC 50 dose of sv and aln. To assess the effect of these drugs on Hep-2 cells, cell viability was measured in addition to measuring vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression by Elisa.Results: In all groups, a decrease in the mean viability percentages of the treated Hep-2 cells in relation to control cells was observed in all groups. The combination of both agents exhibited a significant (P-values Ë‚0.05) synergistic effect on decreasing cell viability and angiogenesis of Hep-2 cells in vitro. VEGF measures in all groups were significantly lower than the control group (P-values Ë‚ 0.05). The combination of both drugs at their IC 50 doses can lower the VEGF production by Hep-2 cancer cells (P-values Ë‚ 0.05).Conclusion: A combination of sv and aln in their Ic50 doses has a dramatic effect on lowering the proliferation and VEGF expression in Hep-2 cancer cells cultured in vitro

Introducing New Coating Material Alloy with Potential Elements for High Corrosion Resistance for Oil and Gas Application

In petroleum and petrochemical industries, offshore and onshore systems have to function in an aggressive environment that exposes the production equipment components to thermal cycling and wear and corrosion. Although maintenance of material degradation in oil and gas is costly, internal and external parts of the equipment and pipelines must be well inspected and continually maintained. For this reason, highly advanced corrosion and wear–monitoring systems must be installed in the critical areas of the plant to protect pipes and equipment from seawater and crude oil. Therefore, researchers are in search of advanced materials and methods that could be applied in oil and gas pipelines and accessories for increasing their working time. The common manufacturing processing method for improving the surface of piping and accessories is overlay welding or cladding. This method has some limitations, such as its limitation for choosing materials. In addition, the high temperature of welding causes some defects on the final surface, such as thermal residual stress, cracking, and distortion in the substrate. The method is also time consuming and costly. However, the coating method provides a blend of unique properties with low cost. Thermal spray methods are cold spraying techniques that have a considerably less thermal stress, residual stress, and other defects. Among different thermal spray coating techniques, high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) and plasma are the most commonly used thermal spraying coating processes to produce anti-wear and corrosion coatings with different types of materials such as metal, alloys, and ceramic composite . Furthermore, HVOF and plasma thermally sprayed coating processes induce microstructure heterogeneities, which increase the corrosion and wear resistance. In this research, one type of alloy with chemical composition NiCrCoAlY was chosen for increasing corrosion resistivity of carbon steel piping. A corrosion behavior of coated samples in seawater was investigated for 30 days. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results indicated that these types of alloys protected the surface of carbon steel piping from harsh environments. However, the corrosion protection of NiCoCrAlY deposited by HVOF technique is higher than a plasma coating technique

Fecal Peritonitis in Rats

In this study, cecal ligation and puncture were performed in 75 Sprgue-Dawley rats. Peritoneal lavage was performed using 10 ml of povidone-iodine as 1% concentration in group A, while the same volume of 50% of honey diluted in distilled water was used in group B. Group C was used as a control. The overall mortality was 32% in group A (8/25), 12% in group B (3/25) and 60% in group C (15/25). Tissue toxicity was found to outweigh bactericidal effects. Honey was tested for its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity without adverse effects. So, we concluded that honey might be used as a peritoneal lavage solution with no side effects

Review of Biomass Thermal Gasification

Gasification of biomass is one of the most attractive methods for producing hydrogen rich gas. Syngas production from biomass is an attractive solution for energy crisis. The production of energy from biomass reduces the dependence of developing countries on fossil fuels, as ample biomass is available in the developing countries and is renewable. Downdraft gasifiers are fixed bed gasifiers where the gasifying agent and biomass are flowing downwards, developed for high-volatile fuels such as wood or biomass gasification. Cocurrent flow regime throughout the oxidation and reduction zones reduces the tars and particulates in syngas, which will reduce the necessity of complicated cleaning methods compared to updraft gasifiers especially if the gas is used as a burnable gas in a small community. It is important to ensure homogenous distribution of gasifying agent at the downdraft gasifier throat. This chapter presents latest trends in gasification of biomass using downdraft gasification

The effect of twitter dissemination on cost of equity: A big data approach

Reducing information asymmetry between investors and a firm can have an impact on the cost of equity, especially in an environment or times of uncertainty. New technologies can potentially help disseminate corporate financial information, reducing such asymmetries. In this paper we analyse firms’ dissemination decisions using Twitter, developing a comprehensive measure of the amount of financial information that a company makes available to investors (iDisc) from a big data of firms’ tweets (1,197,208 tweets). Using a sample of 4131 firm-year observations for 791 non-financial firms listed on the US NASDAQ stock exchange over the period 2009–2015, we find evidence that iDisc significantly reduces the cost of equity. These results are pronounced for less visible firms which are relatively small in size, have a low analyst following and a small number of investors. Highly visible firms are less likely to benefit from iDisc in influencing their cost of equity as other communication channels may have widely disseminated their financial information. Our investigations encourage managers to consider the benefits of directly spreading a firm’s financial information to stakeholders and potential investors using social media in order to reduce firm equity premium (COE)

Determination of caffeine in roasted and irradiated coffee beans with gamma rays by high performance liquid chromatography

The present study was carried out to investigate a simple, quick and organic solvent saving procedure for the high performance liquid chromatography determination of caffeine in two different coffee beans (Indonesian and Brazilian) which roasted at two different temperatures (150 & 220 ºC) and irradiated at 3, 6, and 9 kGy doses by gamma rays. A linear calibration curve was generated with caffeine concentration ranging from 0.005 to 0.25 mg/g with correlation coefficient (R2= 0.9995, n=4) and relative standard deviation ? 2.1 %. The developed procedure provided a 7.3 x 10-9 mg/g and 2.2 x 10-8 mg/g limit of detection and limit of quantification, respectively. The developed method was repeatable and could be applied to determine trace amounts of caffeine in popular irradiated coffee beans with three different irradiation doses. Moreover, irradiation treatments at doses up to 9 kGy showed no significant effect on the caffeine content. Keywords: Caffeine determination; High performance liquid chromatography;  Coffee bean; Roasting; Gamma rays; Statistical analysi

التخطيط الإقليمي مدخل لمواجهة المخاطر المرتبطة بالتغير المناخي لأقاليم الساحل الشمالي في مصر

تعد التغيرات المناخية من أهم المعضلات التي تواجة العالم خاصةً في ظل القضايا الشائكة من الاحتباس الحراري وتزايد ارتفاع درجة حرارة الأرض، وذوبان الصفائح الجليدية وارتفاع منسوب مياه البحار والمحيطات، مما دفع منظمة الأمم المتحدة لإبرام إتفاقية التغيرات المناخية وبروتوكول كيوتو، اللذان يهدفان لخفض هذه الانبعاثات، وأعلنت الهيئة الحكومية الدولية المعنية بتغير المناخ أن دلتا النيل في مصر من بين المناطق الثلاث الأولى على كوكب الأرض الأكثر عرضة لارتفاع مستوى سطح البحر، وأشار تقرير البنك الدولي انه يوجد فى مصر عدة مناطق أوشكت على الغرق تشمل هذه المناطق شديدة الخطورة أجزاء من محافظات الدلتاوالإسكندرية ومحافظات البحيرة وبورسعيد ومحافظات دمياط ومحافظة السويس. تهدف هذه الدراسة الى مواجهة اهم مخاطر التغيرات المناخية المتمثلة في ارتفاع منسوب البحر في ضوء صياغة التوجهات الاستراتيجية الاقليمية للمناطق الساحلية الشمالية المصرية ،وعلى هذا تم الوقوف في هذه الدراسة على المفاهيم المتعلقة بالتغيرات المناخية واهم تاثيرتها التي يتضح فيها ان التغير المناخي عالميًا يؤدي بشكل مباشرالى ارتفاع مناسيب سطح البحار والمحيطات بسبب ارتفاع درجات الحرارة مما يؤدي هذا الأمر الى محو مدن كبرى فى العالم، و تعتبر مصر من احد الدول التى ستتاثر بهذا الامر خاصة على المنطقة الساحلية الشمالية (الدلتا – اقليم الاسكندرية - اقليم القناة)، وخلال هذه الدراسة تم التركيز على الاقاليم الساحلية الشمالية التى ستتاثر بشكل مباشر حيث تم الوقوف على السيناريوهات المحتملة لارتفاع منسوب البحر على تلك المناطق والتي تراوحت من ( 0.5 -1.5 ) والنتائج المتوقعة لكل سيناريو على السكان والاراضي المعرضة للغرق وتم ترجيح السيناريو الثاني الذي يتوقع فيه ارتفاع منسوب البحر 100 سم واهم نتائجه غرق مساحة قدرها 4500كم2 وعدد السكان المتضررين حوالي 6 مليون • وتم اختيار السيناريو الثاني لانه اعلي من المقدار المتوقع 65 سم ، وعملية التخطيط لابد ان تتم في اطار اكثر حرصا لان المتغيرات المناخية لايمكن توقع سرعة وتيرتها . .كما تم الوقوف على الملامح الرئيسية للوضع الراهن لتلك الاقاليم ومن ثم استنباط المؤشرات التحليلية . في ضوء تلك المؤشرات تم اقتراح بدائل تخطيطية لتنمية الاقاليم الثلاثة في ضوء التغلب على احد اهم تهديدات و مخاطر التغيرات المناخية :البديل الاول ويتمثل في الابقاء على الوضع الحالي للاقاليم الثلاثة والاتجاه نحو التنمية للكيانات العمرانية في ضوء التكيف مع المعالجات التي تبناها الدولة في التصدي للمتغيرات المناخية . البديل الثاني ويتمثل في تكثيف اعمال التنمية في المناطق الماهولة بالاقليم خلال الفترة الزمنية الحالية حتى عام 2100 م، ثم يتم توجيه التنمية بعدها الى خارج نطاق المناطق الماهولة .أما البديل الثالث فيتمثل في سرعة التحرك لمواجهة التغيرات المناخية واثارها ،واستخدام اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط في هذا البديل ، وبحيث تكون البداية في اعمال التنمية من الان وتكون سنة الهدف2050 تمتد حتى سنة 2100م، وفي ضوء ترجيح البديل الثالث تم اقتراح الإستراتيجية المكانية للتنمية المقترحة لاقاليم الدراسة ، وتم وضع اليات تحديد مناطق التنمية الجديدة في اقاليم الدراسة ، ومقترحات التوزيع المكاني للتجمعات العمرانية المقترحة ، و تقدير والحجم السكاني المتوقع ،كما تم صياغة التوجهات الاستراتيجية المقترحة للتغلب على التغيرات المناخية من اهمها تشجيع العمل للحد من تعرض النظم البشرية والطبيعية لآثار تغير المناخ ،ودعم الجهات المعنية بالتعامل مع متغيرات المناخ والقدرة على إدارة التكيف مع تغير المناخ . كما تم تحديد دور الجهات المختلفة في تحقيق استراتيجية التغلب على المتغيرات المناخية . وفي الاخير تم استنباط النتائج التي تتمثل اهمها في وجود اساليب للتعامل مع مخاطر ارتفاع منسوب البحر مثل استخدام الحواجز والحماية الخطية والتنمية المرتفعة والتنمية العائمة والتنمية الفيضانية والاجلاء المخطط,كانت في اغلبها معيبة حيث انها قصيرة المدي وتكلفتها مرتفعة الا اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط الذي كان اقلهم كلفة ، ومن ثم كان اسلوب الاجلاء المخطط هو الاقرب في التعامل مع منطقة الدراسة حيث ان ارتفاع منسوب سطح البحر بالسواحل الشمالية لمصر سيؤدي إلى غرق الأراضي الساحلية حتى عمق 7 كيلومترات, وتوقع تهجير ما يقارب من 6 ملايين السكان من الدلتا، بحلول عام 2100 لذا كان من الضروري اعداد استيراتيجية تنموية تهدف الى اعادة توزيع استخدامات الاراضى فى منطقة الدراسة بما يتناسب مع تداعيات المتغيرات المناخية المتوقعة ، إقامة مجتمعات عمرانية جديدة للتنمية المتكاملة لرفع الأعباء عن المجتمعات القائمة.و اعادة تقسيم الاقاليم التخطيطية الساحلية بحيث يتم ضم اقليم الدلتا الى كل من اقليم الاسكندرية والقناة لايجاد بديل تنموي للتجمعات العمرانية الموجودة بالدلتا في الظهير الصحراوي المستجد

Effect of Earplugs and Eye Mask on Sleep Quality Among Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome at Assiut University Hospital

Background: Sleep disturbance can cause multiple negative cardiovascular effects among patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). Aim: this study carried out to investigate effect of earplugs and eye mask on sleep quality among patients with ACS. Design: a quasi-experimental design. Setting: Coronary Care Unit at Assiut University Hospital. Subjects: Convenience sampling of 60 male and female adult patients were assigned randomly to two equal groups (30 each). Tools: Four tools were utilized to collect data of study, which were: Tool I Acute Coronary Syndrome patient assessment sheet Tool II: Factors affecting sleep quality among patients with ACS during night Tool III: 0–10 Numeric Pain Rating Scale Tool IV: ST Mary’s Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (SMHSQ). Methods: Researcher assessed factors affecting sleep quality during night as base line data and on daily basis for 3 consecutive days. Then, earplugs and eye mask were placed for study group between 7:10 PM. On morning, sleep quality was assessed for study and control groups by using (SMHSQ) between 7:8 AM. Results: Finding of this study supported stated research hypotheses with statistical significant difference between study and control groups regarding total mean of sleep quality score during 1st and 2nd nights of intervention (P=0.000**, P= 0.014*) respectively as well as some of environmental factors affecting sleep quality with P. value < 0.05. Conclusion Earplugs, eye mask significantly improve sleep quality of patients with ACS. Therefore, offering earplugs and eye mask as a part of routine nursing practice for all ACS patients is highly recommended.                                                                                        Key words: earplugs and eye mask, sleep quality, acute coronary syndrome patient