Two most abundant species of Ulva and Enteromorpha from coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The present paper reports mass occurrence of two algal species Ulva grandis Saifullah and Nizamuddin and Enteromorpha intestinalis (Linnaeus) Link in a protected coastal area in Jeddah, heavily polluted with domestic sewage. They seem to prefer low salinity eutrophic waters for their maximum growth

The Sociology of civilisations: Ibn Khaldun and a multi-civilisational world order

Due to advancements in telecommunications and transportation over the past century, the world is shrinking and physical boundaries are being eroded. The advent of globalization has facilitated the flow of ideas, values, goods, and people from one part of the world to another. This hyperbolic human activity has altered the structure of inter-civilizational relations and has spawned a spirited debate on how to create a multi-civilizational world order. This paper is critical of contemporary approaches on the subject that envisage the primacy of one civilization on the one hand and a clash among civilizations on the other. By examining Ibn Khaldun’s theory of ʿUmrān and the discipline of Fiqh, it argues that these concepts remain relevant for our understanding of the human condition today. While the theory of ʿUmrān analyzes political and economic relations at the macro-level, Fiqh tries to arrange societal relations at the microlevel. This paper also studies the Ottoman legacy since the Ottoman state was founded on Fiqh and the Millet system. It proved to be successful in preserving pluralistic communities based on principles of autonomy and mutual coexistence. Even though Ibn Khaldun was one of the pioneers in the field of civilizational studies, his seminal work is largely neglected in scholarly circles today, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The present inquiry seeks to address this shortcoming

Performance of Broiler Chicken on Diet Supplemented with Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum) Powder on Haematological and Biochemical Parameters

The present research work was conducted with the aim to find the different levels of black pepper powder supplementation on the performance in terms of growth, feed intake, carcass characteristics, blood parameters, overall performance and cost of rearing of broiler chicken. For this, a total of 120- day old, broiler chicks of hybrid Cobb-400 strain, were equally distributed into four treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) with five replications per treatment following Randomized Block Design. The birds were reared for 42 days. The birds in control group (T1) were provided with standard diets of broiler starter and broiler finisher. However, the diets of other groups were supplemented with black pepper powder @7.5, 10.0 and 12.5 g/kg feed for T2, T3 and T4 groups, respectively. Feed intake was recorded daily and weekly body weight was recorded replication wise. Gain in weight and feed conversion efficiency was calculated accordingly. The inputs of all items were precisely recorded for calculation of economics of rearing. On the 42nd day, from each treatment three birds were selected for collection of blood analysis viz. Hb, WBC, RBC, HDL, LDL and Cholesterol. No mortality was observed for all the treatments. The results showed no significant difference in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion efficiency, overall performance index and net profit per bird. In terms of blood constituents viz, RBC, WBC, Cholesterol were better in T1 group

Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of N-([4-(aminophenylethynyl)toluene]-N’-(cinnamoyl)thiourea (AECT) as single molecular conductive film

The exploitation of mixed moieties of conjugated acetylide and thiourea system as molecular wire candidates surprisingly unexplored in this distinctive area although the well-known rigid π-systems enhance the electronic field at some extend. Therefore, in the present research, interest has been focused on the design, synthesis, fabrication and evaluation of the performance of a new acetylide-thiourea, N-([4-(aminophenylethynyl)toluene]-N’-(cinnamoyl)thiourea (AECT) based on Donor (D)-π-Acceptor (A) system as an active layer in conductive film. The compounds were successfully characterized via infrared spectroscopy (IR), UV-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), CHNS elemental analysis, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as well as cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis. The investigation of its potential as dopant system in conductive film was fabricated on ITO substrate prior to the evaluation of its conductivity properties which was carried out by Four Point Probe. The findings from the conductivity analysis showed that the prepared film, AECT/ITO performed better and exhibited increasing conductivity up to 0.2044 Scm-1 under maximum light intensity of 150 Wm-2. This proposed molecular framework gives an ideal indication to act as conductive film and has opened wide potential for application in organic electronic devices

Influence of marketing mix strategy in insurance business: The case of Kota Bharu

Malaysia has experience a low penetration for Takaful business despite many growing operators in insurance industry. After 25 years in operation, it is time that Takaful industry is evaluated in terms of its performance. This study provides better understanding on Takaful customer satisfaction in a case of Kota Bharu. Population of this study are customers who have subscribing family Takaful plans in selected Takaful operator at least one years’ experience based on convenience sampling method. A total of 196 questionnaires were distributed and 163 questionnaires were returned. Therefore, this study revealed that the Product, Pricing, Promotion, People and Process towards Takaful operator were positively influence customer satisfaction. Finally, the study found that the Process indicates as the most critical factor that influences customer satisfaction toward Takaful Operator.© 2019 Sciedu Pressfi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Integrated model for earthquake risk assessment using neural network and analytic hierarchy process: Aceh province, Indonesia

© 2019 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University Catastrophic natural hazards, such as earthquake, pose serious threats to properties and human lives in urban areas. Therefore, earthquake risk assessment (ERA) is indispensable in disaster management. ERA is an integration of the extent of probability and vulnerability of assets. This study develops an integrated model by using the artificial neural network–analytic hierarchy process (ANN–AHP) model for constructing the ERA map. The aim of the study is to quantify urban population risk that may be caused by impending earthquakes. The model is applied to the city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, a seismically active zone of Aceh province frequently affected by devastating earthquakes. ANN is used for probability mapping, whereas AHP is used to assess urban vulnerability after the hazard map is created with the aid of earthquake intensity variation thematic layering. The risk map is subsequently created by combining the probability, hazard, and vulnerability maps. Then, the risk levels of various zones are obtained. The validation process reveals that the proposed model can map the earthquake probability based on historical events with an accuracy of 84%. Furthermore, results show that the central and southeastern regions of the city have moderate to very high risk classifications, whereas the other parts of the city fall under low to very low earthquake risk classifications. The findings of this research are useful for government agencies and decision makers, particularly in estimating risk dimensions in urban areas and for the future studies to project the preparedness strategies for Banda Aceh

Microwave Hydrothermal Carbonization of Rice Straw: Optimization of Process Parameters and Upgrading of Chemical, Fuel, Structural and Thermal Properties.

The process parameters of microwave-induced hydrothermal carbonization (MIHTC) play an important role on the hydrothermal chars (hydrochar) yield. The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time, particle size and biomass to water ratio was optimized for hydrochar yield by modeling using the central composite design (CCD). Further, the rice straw and hydrochar at optimum conditions have been characterized for energy, chemical, structural and thermal properties. The optimum condition for hydrochar synthesis was found to be at a 180 °C reaction temperature, a 20 min reaction time, a 1:15 weight per volume (w/v) biomass to water ratio and a 3 mm particle size, yielding 57.9% of hydrochar. The higher heating value (HHV), carbon content and fixed carbon values increased from 12.3 MJ/kg, 37.19% and 14.37% for rice straw to 17.6 MJ/kg, 48.8% and 35.4% for hydrochar. The porosity, crystallinity and thermal stability of the hydrochar were improved remarkably compared to rice straw after MIHTC. Two characteristic peaks from XRD were observed at 2? of 15° and 26°, whereas DTG peaks were observed at 50?150 °C and 300?350 °C for both the materials. Based on the results, it can be suggested that the hydrochar could be potentially used for adsorption, carbon sequestration, energy and agriculture applications

Effects of two CIDR-based oestrus synchronization protocols on oestrus response in boer goats.

Sixty fertile and healthy female Boer goats were divided equally and randomly into two groups (n=30). The first group received CIDR treatment for 14 days (T14) with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) prior to CIDR removal and the second group received CIDR treatment for 9 days (T9) with 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) 24 hours before CIDR removal. The number of does with oestrus and the time of oestrus sign were recorded every 6-hour interval and the observation was conducted from 24 hours after CIDR removal and terminated 66 hours after CIDR removal. Blood samples were taken from all of the does before CIDR insertion and 48 hours after CIDR removal. The results showed all 30 does (100%) in T14 and 28 does (93.3%) in T9 came to oestrus. The mean time of does showing signs of oestrus for both treatments were significantly different in tail flagging and standing to be mounted (P0.05). The current study suggests that CIDR treatment for 14 days with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol prior to CIDR removal gave better result in oestrus synchronisation compared to CIDR treatment for 9 days with 0.05 mg cloprostenol given 24 hours before CIDR removal

Multiwall carbon nanotube promising route for removal of chromium from wastewater via batch column mechanism

Water pollution regarding heavy metals issue keep lingering our days from time to time, and some problems even left unattended. The most crucial cause of this pollution is the industrial waste, especially waste water that had been released into the drainage system without being treated first. This activity had been done illegally and left a huge impact towards the environment also human. In this study multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are promising route for removal of chromium was investigated. Results revealed that the optimum conditions for highest removal (99.97%) of chromium are pH7,0.04g of MWCNTs dosage, and flowrate of 20.83 mL/s. Based on adsorption isotherm for this experiment, the amount of chromium adsorbed, qm calculated was 50.51 mg of chromium/gram of MWCNTs. From the results obtained, it had been proved that MWCNTs can be used as an effective adsorbent in chromium removal from aqueous solution due to high adsorption capacity