Physiochemical Characteristic and Biological Activity of the Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) Bud Oil

  The present study was investigating the physiochemical and the biological activity of the Clove bud oil against the fungus (A. niger) and two bacteria (E. coli and Staph. aurues). The inhibition zone plate method was used for bacterial test, while the mycelia weights and radial growth methods were used for the fungal study. The A.O.S. official methods were used to determine the physiochemical properties. The studies on the physiochemical characteristics of the Clove bud oil proved that the acid value was (3.86), the saponification value was (38.27),the peroxide value was (3.83), the specific gravity was (1.043), the  reflective index was (1.525), the iodine value was (182.43), and the free fatty acid was (1.94). The results of the antimicrobial tests showed that  the  Clove bud oil gave a complete inhibition of the radial growth of the fungus (A. niger) at its higher concentration and a high reduction percent at its lower concentrations. However, the mycelial fresh and dry weights of the fungus A. niger were completely inhibited by the Clove bud oil at its higher concentration, and clearly reduced at its lower concentrations. The inhibition zone of growth of both bacteria was larger than that of the control treatment. Clove bud oil showed clear inhibition zone when used against Staph. aurues compared to its use against E. coli. Many studies have reported that oils of different herbs and spices can yield medicinal compounds. Spices and herbs have been used for thousand of years by man in traditional medicine. However, more physiochemical characterizations need to be done and the antifungal and the antibacterial properties should be verified in any further studies on the Clove bud oil.   &nbsp

Study of sumac extract (Rhus coriaria L.), lactic acid and thyme oil as decontaminants for shelf life extension of refrigerated rabbit meat

In an attempt to improve the microbiological quality and extend the shelf-life of refrigerated rabbit meat, four groups of rabbit meat from New Zealand breed were prepared, the 1st group was untreated (control), while the other three groups were treated with lactic acid 0.5 %, thyme oil 0.5 % and water extract of sumac 8 % by dipping for 1, 1 and 10 min, respectively. Then the samples were refrigerated at 2 ± 1 °C to be periodically examined for their sensory and microbiological status. The control and treated samples showed excellent overall acceptability by panellists at zero-day of examination, off odours and tastes were noticed by the day 9, 12, 9 and 15 day of storage in control (C), lactic acid (LA), thyme oil (TO) and water extract of sumac (WES) treated groups, respectively. There was no significant differences in aerobic plate counts “APC” (at p < 0.05) between treated and untreated groups at zero and 3rd day of examination, while at 6th and 9th day of refrigerated storage, the values of APC were significantly lower in LA and WES treated groups than C and TO treated groups. The APC results confirm the concept that the slowest growth rate of the total bacterial population extends the shelf life of rabbit meat. Approximately, similar pattern to that of APC was observed in the results of coliforms (MPN). The MPN values of faecal coliforms and E. coli were relatively low, which could be attributed to the preparation of rabbit samples under strict hygienic measures. The obtained results in the present study suggest that WES can be used as a decontaminant for rabbit and poultry meat at each decontamination step instead of other chemical substances which could affect the acceptability of the final product and remain some hazardous residues. Keywords: sumac, rabbit, quality, shelf life, thyme oil, lactic acid

Teachers’ professional identity measures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the perspective of Rasch Model Framework

This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the professional identity measure of the professional identity of Mathematics teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Professional identity topic has not been widely addressed in the Arab environment. Studying the Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Identity (TPI) is important because only few and inadequate body of research has been performed in the Arab environment. Establishing measuring tool on the TPI contributes on the evaluation of the teachers in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their roles in the educational process in the country. This study applies descriptive approach. 600 secondary Mathematics teachers were involved. The adapted version of the questionnaire designed by Albaqi'i (2014) used to measure the Mathematics TPI. Delphi techniques in three rounds to gather experts’ opinion about the suitability of Mathematics TPI questionnaire used in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia context. Rasch model as a framework applied to assess the psychometric properties of Mathematic TPI questionnaire. The results are valuable in terms of analyzing the psychometric properties for the first version of Mathematics TPI, to improve Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and the psychometric properties for the revised version of Mathematics TPI Questionnaire

Cost saving with ultrasonography in a developing country district hospital

Objective: To estimate the potential monetary reduction induced by the introduction of an ultrasound unit in a major district hospital in a developing country. Design: Propective study. Subjects: Patients referred with abnominal diseases and pregnancy. Setting: 'Wad Medani Teaching Hospital, Central Sudan. Results: Local specialists referring the patients stated that an estimated 792 radiologic procedures would have been carried out to obtain the same amount of information as achieved by ultrasound. Such procedures budgeted approximately 8100 US dollars, in terms of equipment, material and personnel by 1987 rates. Such savings have benefited all departments of the hospital. Conclusion: The authors consider this as evidence for the fact that despite its initial high investment (15000 US dollars), availability of ultrasound virtually reduced expenditure on other radiological diagnostic procedures. This is of special benefit for the limited budgets of hospitals in non-industrialiied countries.East African Medical Journal, May 1999, 272-27

The effect of viscosity, friction, and sonication on the morphology and metabolite production from Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542

This study investigates the effects of viscosity, friction, and sonication on the morphology and the production of lovastatin, (+)-geodin, and sulochrin by Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542. Sodium alginate and gelatine were used to protect the fungal pellet from mechanical force by increasing the media viscosity. Sodium alginate stimulated the production of lovastatin by up to 329.0% and sulochrin by 128.7%, with inhibitory effect on (+)-geodin production at all concentrations used. However, the use of gelatine to increase viscosity significantly suppressed lovastatin, (+)-geodin, and sulochrin’s production (maximum reduction at day 9 of 42.7, 60.8, and 68.3%, respectively), which indicated that the types of chemical play a major role in metabolite production. Higher viscosity increased both pellet biomass and size in all conditions. Friction significantly increased (+)-geodin’s titre by 1527.5%, lovastatin by 511.1%, and sulochrin by 784.4% while reducing pellet biomass and size. Conversely, sonication produced disperse filamentous morphology with significantly lower metabolites. Sodium alginate-induced lovastatin and sulochrin production suggest that these metabolites are not affected by viscosity; rather, their production is affected by the specific action of certain chemicals. In contrast, low viscosity adversely affected (+)-geodin’s production, while pellet disintegration can cause a significant production of (+)-geodin

Management of penetrating injury to thoracic inlet and lower neck with retained foreign body using video assisted thoracoscopic surgery

Penetrating neck and chest injuries are a common form of occupational injuries. We hereby report a unique case in which a metallic rod had penetrated the left chest and neck of a plastic factory worker. The patient was vitally stable when he presented to Emergency Room. Chest X-ray was performed and the patient was rushed to the operating room. VATS (video assisted thoracoscopic surgery) and neck dissection was done for retrieval of the metallic rod. On table, endoscopy was also done to rule out injury to oesophagus. No injury to vital structures was found and the subsequent recovery was uneventful

Modelling and simulation of magnesium antimonide based thermoelectric generator

This paper presents the modelling and simulation of a π-shaped Mg3Sb2 based thermoelectric generator. The performance of the proposed thermoelectric generator is evaluated with finite element analysis. A number of thermocouples were varied for high output power and power efficiency factor. Based on the analysis, we demonstrated that enhancement of the temperature gradient and the number of thermocouples are beneficial for high output power and power efficiency factor of Mg3Sb2 based thermoelectric generator. A high output power and power efficiency factor of 8.89 mW and 3.47 mWmm-2K-2 were obtained at a temperature gradient of 500K across the hot and cold side for four Mg3Sb2 based thermocouples, respectively. The obtained results show that the developed device could be used to drive portable electronic devices

Genetic analysis and identification of SSR markers associated with rice blast disease in a BC2F1 backcross population

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) blast disease is one of the most destructive rice diseases in the world. The fungal pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, is the causal agent of rice blast disease. Development of resistant cultivars is the most preferred method to achieve sustainable rice production. However, the effectiveness of resistant cultivars is hindered by the genetic plasticity of the pathogen genome. Therefore, information on genetic resistance and virulence stability are vital to increase our understanding of the molecular basis of blast disease resistance. The present study set out to elucidate the resistance pattern and identify potential simple sequence repeat markers linked with rice blast disease. A backcross population (BC2F1), derived from crossing MR264 and Pongsu Seribu 2 (PS2), was developed using marker-assisted backcross breeding. Twelve microsatellite markers carrying the blast resistance gene clearly demonstrated a polymorphic pattern between both parental lines. Among these, two markers, RM206 and RM5961, located on chromosome 11 exhibited the expected 1:1 testcross ratio in the BC2F1population. The 195 BC2F1 plants inoculated against M. oryzae pathotype P7.2 showed a significantly different distribution in the backcrossed generation and followed Mendelian segregation based on a single-gene model. This indicates that blast resistance in PS2 is governed by a single dominant gene, which is linked to RM206 and RM5961 on chromosome 11. The findings presented in this study could be useful for future blast resistance studies in rice breeding programs

FPGA technology in process tomography

The aims of this paper are to provide a review of the process tomography applications employing field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and to understand current FPGA related researches, in order to seek for the possibility to applied FPGA technology in an ultrasonic process tomography system. FPGA allows users to implement complete systems on a programmable chip, meanwhile, five main benefits of applying the FPGA technology are performance, time to market, cost, reliability, and long-term maintenance. These advantages definitely could help in the revolution of process tomography, especially for ultrasonic process tomography and electrical process tomography. Future work is focused on the ultrasonic process tomography for chemical process column investigation using FPGA for the aspects of low cost, high speed and reconstructed image quality