Muslim Entrepreneurs between India & the Gulf

In recent years the role of wealthy entrepreneurs in Muslim political, religious, and social life has been largely neglected. The authors reverse this trend by considering the practices and orientations of some Kerala Muslim businessmen, who unite the pursuit of particular business interests with efforts to produce a Muslim modernity

Adaptive mechanisms in dogs adopted from shelters: A behavioral assessment of the use of a synthetic analogue of the canine appeasing pheromone

Adaptation to a new socio-environment might represent a very hard step for sheltered dogs, because of a higher level of difficulty in coping with unfamiliar conditions. The adaptation process can be logically and scientifically related to the concept of stress and welfare, limiting the success rate of rehoming. A synthetic analogue of the Dog Appeasing Pheromone (Dog Appeasing Pheromone, DAP) is reported to have a reassuring effect in puppies and adult dogs in a wide variety of stressful situations. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of DAP (Adaptil® Ceva Vetem S.p.A.) in dogs re-homed from rescue shelters. The study was designed as a prospective open-label clinical trial. Significant decreases were observed in adult dogs for wandering in the house restlessly (p=0.022) and hiding fearfully in protected corners (p=0.033), whereas in puppies treatment with DAP significantly (p<0.05) improved the reaction towards unfamiliar dogs (p=0.048) and wandering in the house restlessly (p=0.022). In both adults and puppies a significant improvement in interaction with owners was observed. In particular, "looking continuously for the owners" and "following the owners everywhere like a shadow" were significantly improved (p=0.0012 and 0.0016 respectively) in adult dogs. Separation reactions revealed a significant decrease (p<0.05) and in puppies the tendency to vocalize in absence of the owner was also significantly reduced (p=0.0029). Both adults and puppies showed a decreased tendency to wake suddenly in the night (p=0.024 and p=0.026 respectively) and wander around the home (p=0.012 and p=0.026 respectively). In contrast, for house-training no significant difference was reported in adults, whereas for puppies there was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the mean scores for urination and/or defecation wherever in the house and after coming home. Data regarding the overall assessment suggested a significant improvement in all the efficacy variables considered in the study. The analysis of owners' degree of satisfaction at the final visit showed that DAP treatment was considered successful by 84.4 % of owners. Results suggest that DAP might improve dogs' adaptability throughout the first weeks following adoption and can be considered a useful tool for reducing stress in re-homed dogs

Effect of Xylanase on the Technological Behaviour of Wheat Flours

The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of enzyme xylanase on the technological behaviour of wheat flours, particularly in alveograms and bread making, using two flour qualities and two bread making methods. The enzyme used was xylanase from Bacillus subtilis which is sold for mainly for baking applications. Breads were made applying both the French and the pan bread methods. Experts scored the external and internal characteristics of breads. Increase in enzyme concentration produced a decrease in maximum pressure (P) and tensile strength/extensibility (P/L) but deformation energy (W) remained almost constant in the alveogram. This means that the water released by the hydrolysis of insoluble pentosans has reduced the tenacity of the dough. The higher the enzyme concentration, the lower the dough consistency during kneading. Besides, the greatest improvement of quality was produced when xylanase was added to low quality flour and when the French type bread making method was applied.Fil: Osella, C.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Tecnología de Los Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: de la Torre, M. A. G.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Tecnología de Los Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Erben, Melina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Tecnología de Los Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Gallardo, A.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Tecnología de Los Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, H.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Tecnología de Los Alimentos; Argentin

Composition dependent electrochemical properties of earth-abundant ternary nitride anodes

Growing energy storage demands on lithium-ion batteries necessitate exploration of new electrochemical materials as next-generation battery electrode materials. In this work, we investigate the previously unexplored electrochemical properties of earth-abundant and tunable Zn1-xSn1+xN2 (x = -0.4 to x = 0.4) thin films, which show high electrical conductivity and high gravimetric capacity for Li insertion. Enhanced cycling performance is achieved compared to previously published end-members Zn3N2 and Sn3N4, showing decreased irreversible loss and increased total capacity and cycle stability. The average reversible capacity observed is > 1050 mAh/g for all compositions and 1220 mAh/g for Zn-poor (x = 0.2) films. Extremely Zn-rich films (x = -0.4) show improved adhesion; however, Zn-rich films undergo a phase transformation on the first cycle. Zn-poor and stoichiometric films do not exhibit significant phase transformations which often plague nitride materials and show no required overpotential at the 0.5 V plateau. Cation composition x is explored as a mechanism for tuning relevant mechanical and electrochemical properties, such as capacity, overpotential, phase transformation, electrical conductivity, and adhesion. The lithiation/delithiation experiments confirm the reversible electrochemical reactions. Without any binding additives, the as-deposited electrodes delaminate resulting in fast capacity degradation. We demonstrate the mechanical nature of this degradation through decreased electrode thinning, resulting in cells with improved cycling stability due to increased mechanical stability. Combining composition and electrochemical analysis, this work demonstrates for the first time composition dependent electrochemical properties for the ternary Zn1-xSn1+xN2 and proposes earth-abundant ternary nitride anodes for increased reversible capacity and cycling stability

Estudio de la anomalía en la distribución de la conductividad terrestre en la zona ecuatorial africana

La presencia de una anomalía en Ia distribución de Ia conductividad terrestre en Ia zona ecuatorial afr∣cana fue detectada en Ias variaciones geomagnétlcas diarias medidas en esa zona. Un análisis preliminar mostró una discontinuidad en Ia profundidad de Ia capa no conductora del manto superior terrestre. En el presente trabajo se analizan en forma más detallada Ias posibles causas de esta anomalía, teniendo en cuenta Ios efectos producidos por un manto de contor no irregular y Ios debidos a Ia presencia de una zona conductora en Ia corteza.The presence of an anomaly In the dlstributIon of the earth conductlvlty In the AfrIcan equatorIal zone was detected In the geomagnetic daily variatlons measured In this zone. A first analysis showed a discontlnuity In the depth of the non-conducting Iayer of the upper mantle. In the ρresent work a further analysls of this anomaly In done, taking into account the effects próduced by a mantle with an irregular boundary and the ones due to the presence of a conductive zone in the crust.Asociación Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodesta

Obtención de perfiles de densidad electrónica a partir de ionogramas utilizando cuadrados mínimos no lineales

Se presenta un método de reducción de perfiles de densidad electrónica en Ia ionósfera en el cual se propone aρrlori un modelo de perfil de Ia ionósfera desde donde ésta comienza hasta el máximo de Ia capa F2. Según este modelo, el perfil se representa mediante una familia de funciones que se eligen de manera de reproducir Ias características ya conocidas de Ios perfiles de densidad electrónica, tratando de minimlzar el número de parámetros de Ios cuales éstas dependen. Mediante Ia evaluación numérica de Ias alturas virtuales a partir de este modelo y Ia optImIzación por cuadrados mínimos no lineales de Ios valores medidos en el ionograma y Ios calculados con el modelo se obtiene un conjunto de parámetros óptimos. Este modelo, a diferencia de Ios otros, no impone restricciones sobre Ia monotonicidad de Ia función propuesta, incorporando naturalmente Ia posibilidad de Ia existencia de un valle entre Ias regiones E y F. Se presentan pruebas realizadas con un ionograma teórico.A method for reduclng electron density profiles is introduced, where an a-priori model of the electron density In the region below the F2 Iayer is proposed. Accordlng to thls model, the profile is represented by a famlly of functions chosen as to reproduce with the Ieast ρossible number of ρarameters the known features of the electron density profile. Through the numerlcal evaluatlon of the virtual height obtained wlth this model and the non-linear Ieast squares optlmizatlon of the measured and calculated values, the best set of parameters Is obtained. Thls method makes no restrlctlon about the monotonicity of the proposed function as other methods do, thus including the possibility of the presence of a valley between the E and F region. Tests uslng a theoretical ionogram are presented.Asociación Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodesta