The Need for a Legal Standard of Care in the AI Environment

Artificial intelligence (AI) has risen to legal debate over legal liability in-volved in an incident. An intelligent machine can learn through experience and adapts its decisions accordingly. As such, if an intelligent machine’s be-haviour causes harm, the developer and the machine's owner may argue that the autonomous nature of AI systems has broken the causal link. The diffi-culty of determining who is liable for a harmful behaviour of an AI system is accentuated by the fact that tracing back the decision-making process of an AI system is not always possible. This paper aims to put forward a definition of a duty of care for developers and users of AI systems that could be the basis for the investigation of liability while seeking predictability of the allo-cation of legal liability in many cases involving AI incidents. The paper ex-amines some guidelines on ethics for AI to discern essential elements of the duty of care in the AI environment. The paper argues that a uniform minimum standard of care should be adopted internationally through model laws or even an international convention. A uniform standard of care should be enforced by State control rather than self-regulation by the AI industry. A licensing or certification requirement for AI products should be implemented to verify that the elements of the duty of care have been satisfied to control AI production and import/export relations. Violation of the standard of care can be an objective ground to negate or allocate negligence, especially when verifying errors in the design of the relevant software or if explaining the AI system's behaviour is not possible. A clear standard of care would, this paper assumes, help promote AI development and use and would not create imped-iments to investment in AI production

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanofibers Membranes using Electrospinning Technology for Oil Removal

تعتبر المياه العادمة الزيتية أحدى أكثر التدفقات التي يصعب التعامل معها خاصة إذا وجد الزيت على شكل طور مستحلب. في هذه الدراسة، تم استخدام طريقة الغزل الكهربائي لتحضيرأغشية الياف نانوية رقيقة من البولي فينيل فلورايد ودراسة أدائها في إزالة الزيت. تم تضمين جسيمات الجرافين في غشاء البولي فينيل فلورايد المغزول كهربائيا لتعزيز كفاءة الأغشية. تم توصيف الأغشية المحضرة باستخدام الفحص المجهري الإلكتروني الماسح للتحقق من استقرار الجرافين على سطح الغشاء بشكل متجانس، بينما تم استخدام التحليل الطيفي بالأشعة تحت الحمراء للكشف عن المجموعات الوظيفية على سطح الغشاء. تم تقييم قابلية الغشاء و مدى كونه محب للماء عن طريق قياس زاوية التلامس. تم اختبار كفاءة غشاء البولي فينيل فلورايد / جرافين في فصل الزيت المستحلب عن المحاليل المائية مقارنة مع غشاء البولي فينيل فلورايد المصنعة بنفس الطريقة ولكن بدون اي اضافات. أظهرت النتائج أن غشاء ألياف النانو البولي فينيل فلورايد / جرافين أظهر أداء أفضل من غشاء ألياف النانو بدون إضافات بمتوسط تدفق مياه 210 و 180 لتر /م2 ساعة على التوالي. أظهر كلا الغشاءين رفضًا عاليًا للزيت بنسبة تزيد عن 98٪.Oily wastewater is one of the most challenging streams to deal with especially if the oil exists in emulsified form. In this study, electrospinning method was used to prepare nanofiberous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and study their performance in oil removal. Graphene particles were embedded in the electrospun PVDF membrane to enhance the efficiency of the membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to verify the graphene stabilization on the surface of the membrane homogeneously; while FTIR was used to detect the functional groups on the membrane surface. The membrane wettability was assessed by measuring the contact angle. The PVDF and PVDF / Graphene membranes efficiency was tested in separation of emulsified oil from aqueous solutions. The results showed that PVDF-Graphene nanofiber membrane exhibited better performance than the plain PVDF nanofiber membrane with average water flux of 210 and 180 L.m-2.h-1, respectively. Both membranes showed high oil rejection with more than 98%

Significance of nutrient and water sustainability: Effect of land leveling, cut off irrigation and N- fertilization on maize yield

A wide variety of soil, nutrient, and irrigation management practices are available to farmers, most of them concerned with the basic building block of agriculture, the soil. Soil management practices include the tillage and cropping systems and crop rotations used on a farm. Therefore, sustainable crop production should be managed to enhance soil ecosystems, improving soil health and fertility and reversing degradation and pollution of land. As well as, it should be contributed to maintaining and improving, and efficiently utilizing, water resources (quantity, access, stability and quality), especially promoting practices that minimize risks of water pollution from agrochemicals and save water. It is well documented that fertilizer N is the most costly input in maize production and its effective management is a major challenge for improving productivity and environmental sustainability. In present study, the effect of land leveling, cut off irrigation and N- fertilizer on yield and yield components of maize have been studied. The results showed that the highest yield of grain and straw of maize was obtained with using N-fertilization rate 288 kg N ha-1, land levelling rate 0.01 % of surface slope and cut off stream of irrigation rate 75%. The results of this study suggest that, irrigation application efficiency (%) increased from 71 % (for control) to 80 % for cut off 75 % of stream irrigation and land leveling with 0.01 % slope. Thus, about 20 % from the applied water for irrigation is saved by the previous treatments

New Tetra-dentate Schiff Base Ligand N2O2 and Its Complexes with Some of Metal Ions: Preparation, Identification, and Studying Their Enzymatic and Biological Activities

في هذا البحث، تم تحضير ليجند جديد رباعي المخلب، بعنوان 5و3-بس (5- برومو-2-هايدروكسي بنزالدين امينو) حمض البنزويك (H3L) ، من خلال عملية التكثيف المحفز بالحامض. تم أيضًا تحضير أربعة معقدات فلزية جديدة مع أيونات Co (II) و Ni (II) و Cu (II) و Zn (II) ، من مفاعلة مولات مكافئة. تركيب الليكاند ومعقداته تم تأكيدها من خلال العديد من طرائق التوصيف، بما في ذلك الأشعة فوق البنفسجية المرئية، الأشعة تحت الحمراء، مطياف الكتلة، أطياف الرنين المغناطيسي النووي للبروتون والكاربون، الامتصاص الذري اللهبي، الحساسية المغناطيسية، وقياسات التوصيلية المولارية. أثبتت نتائج التحاليل الطيفية أن الليكاند المحضر يعمل كرابط رباعي المخلب ثنائي الشحنة السالبة ويرتبط مع ألايونات الفلزية بواسطة ذرتين من النيتروجين من مجموعتي الآزوميثين وبواسطة ذرتين من الأوكسجين من مجموعتي هيدروكسيل الفينول بعد فقدانهما لبروتونيهما. تم اقتراح بنية ثماني السطوح لجميع المعقدات المحضرة. تم فحص النشاطات (المضادة للبكتيريا) و (المضادة للفطريات) لهذه المركبات ضد بكتريا (E. coli) ، (S. aureus)، (Klebsiella spp.)، (S. epidermidis)، وفطر ال (Candida albicans). أشارت النتائج إلى أن هذه المركبات لها سلوك تثبيط معتدل. كما تمت دراسة نشاط المركبات المحضرة ضد إنزيم أستيل كولين استيراز (AChE) وتشير البيانات التي تم الحصول عليها إلى وجود سلوك تثبيط مختلف.In present work, new tetra-dentate ligand, titled 3,5-bis ((E)-5-Bromo-2-hydroxy benzylidene amino) benzoic acid (H3L), was prepared via an acid-catalyzed condensation process. New four metallic ligand complexes with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions, were also prepared from the refluxing of equivalent moles. Ligand's structure and its complexes; were confirmed by numerous characterization methods, including Ultraviolet-Visible, Infrared, Mass Spectrometer, 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectra, atomic absorption, magnetic moments, and molar conductivity measurements. The results of the spectroscopic analyzes proved that the prepared ligand acts as tetradentate bi-ionic ligand and it was bonded to the metal ions by two nitrogen atoms of the two azomethine groups and by two oxygen atoms of the two phenolic hydroxyl groups after losing their two protons. Octahedral structure proposed to all prepared complexes. The (anti-bacterial) and (anti-fungal) activities of these compound were screened against (E. coli, S. aureus, Klebsiella spp., S. epidermidis,), and (Candida albicans). The results indicated that these compounds have moderated inhibition behavior. The activity of the prepared compounds against Acetyl Choline Esterase Enzyme (AChE) have also studied and the obtained data indicated the presence of different inhibition behavior

In vitro regeneration of parsley and coriander plants: uptake, translocation and accumulation of nicotine

It is well known that, nicotine is a type of alkaloids found in some plants of family Solanaceae but some other plants can produce it under different stresses. Medicinal and spice plants cannot synthesize nicotine under normal growth conditions as well as the fate and behavior of nicotine in plant tissues are not understood totally. Many medicinal plants and plant derived products as spices may be contaminated by nicotine from different sources. This contamination could be considered the main problem facing the exportation of these plant products. On the other hand, determining of nicotine putative sources and detecting its uptake from nicotine contaminated soils and tobacco smoke using peppermint plants have been already studied under greenhouse conditions in Germany. These results from pot experiments demonstrated that, peppermint had the ability to uptake and metabolize nicotine endogenously. So, some plants including parsley and coriander were selected to investigate the nicotine uptake mechanism from culture media supplemented with different nicotine concentrations, which extracted from cigarette tobacco (Matosian Egyptian Spirit) comparing with nicotinic acid (as a pure chemical of nicotine) in Egypt. Moreover, this in vitro study aimed to focus on the translocation and accumulation of nicotine in plant tissues. Hence, in virto research has been already begun using parsley and coriander plants. The preliminary results indicated that, regenerated plants of parsley and coriander were successfully obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L-1 benzyl adenine + 0.01 mg L-1 naphthalene acetic acid. Furthermore, callus cultures have been initiated on MS medium fortified with 1 mg L-1 benzyl adenine + 1 mg L-1 naphthalene acetic acid. Regenerated plants and obtained callus of these plants will be transferred onto MS media supplemented with different concentrations of nicotine and nicotinic acid as mentioned above. In parallel, some field experiments in Egypt have been conducted to get a holistic overview for the object under investigation. Therefore, different experiments including field, pots and in vitro experiments have been conducted in order to reduce the contamination of plants with nicotine

LEAD AND CADMIUM DETOXIFICATION BY HALOPHILIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM SOLAR SALTERNS IN LEBANON

Water contamination by heavy metals has gained considerable attention globally. These inorganic pollutants can enter the aquatic environments via different routes thereby threatening biodiversity and human health. Lead and cadmium are hazardous pollutants where their removal by traditional techniques is identified to be costly and ineffective. However, bioremediation by extremophilic microorganisms is considered to be a promising technique as they have considerable potentials to grow in harsh environmental conditions. The present study deals with the isolation of halophilic bacterial isolates from solar salterns in North Lebanon. The isolate H1S9 was identified as Halomonas venusta H9 after showing tolerance to 500 mg L-1 of lead and cadmium. Conductivity and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy showed that Pb2+ and Cd2+ were removed by Halomonas venusta H9. Transmission Electron Microscopy demonstrated the ability of Halomonas venusta H9 biomass to bioaccumulate Pb2+ and Cd2+ from aqueous solution into the cells. The factors affecting the bioaccumulation process were investigated

The Refined Topological Vertex

We define a refined topological vertex which depends in addition on a parameter, which physically corresponds to extending the self-dual graviphoton field strength to a more general configuration. Using this refined topological vertex we compute, using geometric engineering, a two-parameter (equivariant) instanton expansion of gauge theories which reproduce the results of Nekrasov. The refined vertex is also expected to be related to Khovanov knot invariants.Comment: 70 Pages, 23 Figure

Quantum Foam and Topological Strings

We find an interpretation of the recent connection found between topological strings on Calabi-Yau threefolds and crystal melting: Summing over statistical mechanical configuration of melting crystal is equivalent to a quantum gravitational path integral involving fluctuations of Kahler geometry and topology. We show how the limit shape of the melting crystal emerges as the average geometry and topology of the quantum foam at the string scale. The geometry is classical at large length scales, modified to a smooth limit shape dictated by mirror geometry at string scale and is a quantum foam at area scales g_s \alpha'.Comment: 55 page

Fully Explorable Horned Particles Hiding Charge

The charge-hiding effect by a horned particle, which was studied for the case where gravity/gauge-field system is self-consistently interacting with a charged lightlike brane (LLB) as a matter source, is now studied for the case of a time like brane. From the demand that no surfaces of infinite coordinate time redshift (horizons) appear in the problem we are lead now to a completly explorable horned particle space for traveller that goes through the horned particle (as was the case for the LLB) but now also in addition to this, the horned region is fully visible to a static external observer. This requires negative surface energy density for the shell sitting at the throat. We study a gauge field subsystem which is of a special non-linear form containing a square-root of the Maxwell term and which previously has been shown to produce a QCD-like confining gauge field dynamics in flat space-time. The condition of finite energy of the system or asymptotic flatness on one side of the horned particle implies that the charged object sitting at the throat expels all the flux it produces into the other side of the horned particle, which turns out to be of a "tube-like" nature. An outside observer in the asymptotically flat universe detects, therefore, apparently neutral object. The hiding of the electric flux behind the tube-like region of a horned particle is the only possible way that a truly charged particle can still be of finite energy, in a theory that in flat space describes confinement. This points to the physical relevance of such solutions, even though there is the need of negative energy density at the throat of the horned particle, which can be of quantum mechanical origin.Comment: The new version has been accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity. Title changed to "Fully Explorable Horned Particles Hiding Charge". Horned Particles terminology is used now instead of "wormholes" to dscribe the solutions here. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.373

Taguchi Method for Development of Mass Flow Rate Correlation Using Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Mixture in Capillary Tube

The capillary tube is an important control device used in small vapor compression refrigeration systems such as window air-conditioners, household refrigerators and freezers. This paper develops a non-dimensional correlation based on the test results of the adiabatic capillary tube for the mass flow rate through the tube using a hydrocarbon refrigerant mixture of 89.3% propane and 10.7% butane (HCM). The Taguchi method, a statistical experimental design approach, was employed. This approach explores the economic benefit that lies in studies of this nature, where only a small number of experiments are required and yet valid results are obtained. Considering the effects of the capillary tube geometry and the inlet condition of the tube, dimensionless parameters were chosen. The new correlation was also based on the Buckingham Pi theorem. This correlation predicts 86.67% of the present experimental data within a relative deviation of -10% to +10%. The predictions by this correlation were also compared with results in published literature