92 research outputs found

    Dialogue Protocol in The Holy Quran

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    Whoever looks at the dialogues between Muslims and others in the last decades, will notice that the Muslim\u27s side had suffered – until now – from the lack of protocol and theoretical procedures that control it and allow for organizing the experiences of the dialogue, develop it and come up with its lessons. The holy Quran contains a complete perspective that is rich of various types of dialogues in different issues and between different sides. This is considered as enrichment, training fields and guidance for everyone who wants to open the dialogue door with anyone, in any issue and in any time. Also, through our analysis of the dialogue perspectives that verses of holy Quran is enriched with, we stop and look at the countenance of its protocol in dialoging with others. The protocol which aims at achieving the goals of the dialogue, so that we will not be like the one who blows on ashes or screams in a valley when we storm into this field. This study is concerned with the drawing of the methodology of the dialogue protocol through several ways. First of all is through acknowledging the other and considering that the differences between humans are congenital. Second, is that there is no limitation for dialogue. Third, through knowing the other. Fourth, using our minds and abide by the scientific protocol which has the availability of intellectual freedom, full knowledge on dialogue issue, restrict the goal of the dialogue and illustrate it, abide by the rule that say if you are narrator then the truth or claimer then the proof , avoid being on the contradictions and restrict the terminologies. Fifth, abide by dialogue decency which appears on reject the fanaticism of the previous ideas, virtue of the tongue, adapt to accept dialogue results, my opinion is right but it could be wrong, others opinion is wrong but it could be right and keep away from anxiousnes

    The role of HvBWMK1 in barley tolerance to abiotic stress

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    Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important crop grown throughout the world. Quality and quantity of barley is compromised by abiotic stresses, salinity in particular which is already widespread in many regions. Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascades are signal transduction pathways involved in biotic and abiotic plant defence mechanisms. Here, the function of the barley gene HvBWMK1 has been investigated. Transgenic barley plants that overexpress HvBWMK1, or in which HvBWMK1 has been down-regulated by antisens, were generated, as well as empty vector control plants. The transformation efficiency using Agrobacterium was 10.4% independent transgenic plant per embryo. Northern blot analysis of HvBWMK1 primary overexpression lines showed up-regulation of mRNA level, conversely the antisense lines of HvBWMK1 showed clear down-regulation. Real-time PCR analysis in the T1 generation revealed that two over-expresser lines showed higher expression as compared with wild type (by 79% and 35%) while the HvBWMK1 antisense construct reduced endogenous gene expression partially (by 14%, 23% and 39% compared with wild type). Barley seedlings were subjected to two weeks of salt stress (150 mM NaCl) then biochemical and physiological parameters were measured. The overexpression lines showed an increase in tolerance to salinity stress compared to antisense lines and controls. Tolerance was accompanied with increasing endogenous proline and chlorophyll levels and a reduction in hydrogen peroxide content after salinity exposure. Overall these results suggest that the barley MAPK HvBWMK1 acts as a positive regulator in barley tolerance to salinity stress.Libyan Government Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Researc

    Properties of mortar and concrete containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil

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    Sand contaminated with crude oil has become a major environmental concern worldwide. This problem poses threats to human health, the ecosystem, and the properties of the surrounding sand. Due to the prohibiting cost of the existing remediation methods, a more cost-effective way of utilizing oil contaminated sand is warranted. Mixing oil contaminated sand with cement and using this mix as alternative construction material is considered an innovative approach to reduce its environmental impact. This study is the first to investigate the effect of light crude oil on the physical and mechanical properties of fine sand, and mortar and concrete where contaminated sand is an ingredient. This approach is a critical step to sufficiently evaluate the suitability of this waste product as a sustainable building and construction material. In the first stage, an extensive experimental study was conducted on the important geotechnical properties of fine sand contaminated with light crude oil. The results showed that water absorption, permeability, contact angle, frictional angle, and cohesion decreased with high levels of oil contamination. However, these properties of fine sand were enhanced at 1% oil contamination. The highest value of cohesion (10.76 kPa) and 10% enhancement in shear strength was observed at this oil contamination level. More importantly, the results of this stage provided information on the suitability of using this waste material as fine aggregates in mortar and concrete. The second stage consisted of an evaluation of cement mortar properties containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil. Mixing cement and water before adding the oil contaminated sand yielded up to 19% higher compressive strength compared to the cement mortar prepared by mixing the sand and cement before adding the water, due to a better reaction of cement particles and water during the hydration process. Similarly, curing in a fog room produced mortar of up to 45.6% higher compressive strength compared to mortars cured under other curing conditions, i.e. in water, in air, and in plastic bags. The scanning microscope observations revealed that cement mortars cured in the fog room had lower total porosity, smaller capillary pores, and denser calcium silicate hydrate compared to those cured under other methods. A w/c ratio of 0.5 was found to produce cement mortar with a higher compressive strength than mortar with a w/c ratio of 0.4 or 0.6. It was also found that the cement mortar with sand having more than 2% oil contamination requires a longer curing period to fully develop its compressive strength. The results of this stage demonstrated that proper mixing and curing methods, w/c ratio, and reasonable curing time are important for a cement mortar containing oil contaminated sand to achieve reasonable physical and mechanical properties for building and construction. An investigation of the suitability of a geopolymer binder to produce mortar containing oil contaminated sand was investigated during the third stage. It was found that heat curing can increase the compressive strength of geopolymer mortar up to 54% compared to ambient curing situation. The geopolymer mortar with 1% of light crude oil contamination yielded a 20% higher compressive strength to mortar containing sand with a saturated surface dry condition. This was due to the high alkalinity of the solution, leading to the generation of more geopolymeric binder. Similarly, the formation of efflorescence decreased as the level of oil contamination decreased due to light crude oil filling up the pores. From this stage, it was demonstrated that geopolymer mortar containing oil contaminated sand has the potential as a new engineering material which has a positive impact on the environment. An investigation of the properties of concrete containing oil contaminated sand was implemented as the last stage. The results of the investigation showed that the density of concrete deceased as the amount of crude oil increased due to an increase in the surface voids and total porosity. The highest compressive and splitting tensile strength was obtained for concrete with 1% of light crude oil contamination due to the oil optimising the sand cohesion. Above 1%, the bond between the cement paste and aggregates was affected, resulting in a decrease in strength properties. The developed simplified prediction equations to estimate the compressive strength of mortar and concrete containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil gave a 98% accuracy between the experimental results and the predicted values. An enhanced understanding of the behaviour of fine sand contaminated with light crude oil and the properties of mortar and concrete utilising this waste material is the outcome of this investigation. This outcome will provide a benchmark for future studies and useful information to carefully consider oil contaminated sand for use in building and construction, and as a cost-effective alternative remediation method

    Using industry 4.0 capabilities for identifying and eliminating lean wastes

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    This paper conducts a review of the literature to identify associations in operations between Industry 4.0 capabilities such as Additive Manufacturing, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Robots, Big Data, Cloud Computing, IIoT, Simulation, and Systems Integration with the commonly identified lean manufacturing wastes of Transport, Inventory, Movement, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects, and Underutilized skills. The paper documents research that links various capabilities and wastes, including how IIoT can be used to reduce defects in manufacturing, and how it can mitigate overproduction across industries. There is also evidence that big data implementation in manufacturing has positive effects on reducing waiting times across the manufacturing process and delivery, and that cloud computing technologies guarantee better estimates for product and predicted inventory amounts. The research finds impacts on the social aspect of manufacturing by how augmented reality tools are increasingly used in the manufacturing sector to improve workers’ knowledge, skills, and abilities, and that simulation software applications are capable of decreasing operator motion wastes. The paper concludes that there is a clear benefit for SMEs in using Industry 4.0 in lean implementation journeys, and it supports the efforts of manufacturing organizations to become leaner using Industry 4.0 capabilities and solutions

    Bugs on Cuffs and Pockets: A Cross-sectional Study of the Contamination of Healthcare Personnel Attire at Salmanyia Medical Complex

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    Background: Hospital acquired infections increase the morbidity and mortality of the inpatient population. Pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococci are transmitted by direct contact or transmitted by fomites such as healthcare personnel’s attires. This is a cross-sectional study aimed to explore the prevalence ofcontamination of the attires of healthcare personnel working atSalmanyia Medical Complex. Method: We randomly selected 100 doctors and nurses working in different departmentsand swabbed their attire's sleeves and pockets. We then stored both swabs in their accompanying syringe that contains a bacterial transportation media, and sent them to the lab for culturing. SPSS 23 was used for data entry and analysis. After that, percentages and frequencies were computed for different categorical variables, and a cross-tabulation was computed between each two categorical variables. Chi-Squared test was used to determine whether there were significant relationships between each two categorical variables. Results:Of the total samples, 44 pocket and 45 cuff samples were contaminated with staphylococcus epidermidis (skin flora). Thirty eight participants were found to have contamination of both the cuff and pocket. Nurseshad slightly higher prevalence of cuff contamination than doctors (P=0.032). Amongst doctors, surgeons had the highest prevalence (P=0.006). Discussion:Compared to the data available in the literature, our data did not reveal contamination with significant pathogens such as staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.Nevertheless, contamination with staphylococcus epidermidis could be whether from autoinoculation or contamination from the hospital environment and could correlate to level of hygiene. Frequent washing of attire doesn’t reduce the level of contamination

    Behavior of circular concrete columns reinforced with hollow composite sections and GFRP bars

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    Hollow concrete columns (HCCs) constitute a structurally efficient construction system for marine and offshore structures, including bridge piers and piles. Conventionally, HCCs reinforced with steel bars are vulnerable to corrosion and can lose functionality as a result, especially in harsh environments. Moreover, HCCs are subjected to brittle failure behavior by concrete crushing due to the absence of the concrete core. Therefore, this study investigated the use of glass fiber- reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as a solution for corrosion and the use of hollow composite- reinforced sections (HCRSs) to confine the inner concrete wall in HCCs. Furthermore, this study conducted an in-depth assessment of the effect of the reinforcement configuration and reinforcement ratio on the axial performance of HCCs. Eight HCCs with the same lateral- reinforcement configuration were prepared and tested under monotonic loading until failure. The column design included a column without any longitudinal reinforcement, one reinforced longitudinally with an HCRS, one reinforced longitudinally with GFRP bars, three reinforced with HCRSs and different amounts of GFRP bars (4, 6, and 8 bars), and three reinforced with HCRSs and different diameters of GFRP bars (13, 16, 19 mm). The test results show that longitudinal reinforcement—whether GFRP bars or HCRSs—significantly enhanced the strength and displacement capacities of the HCCs. Increasing the amount of GFRP bars was more effective than increasing the bar diameter in increasing the confined strength and the displacement capacity. The axial-load capacity of the GFRP/HCRS-reinforced HCCs could be accurately estimated by calculating the load contribution of the longitudinal reinforcement, considering the axial strain at the concrete peak strength. A new confinement model considering the combined effect of the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement in the lateral confinement process was also developed

    R : A hybrid machine learning feature selection model—HMLFSM to enhance gene classification applied to multiple colon cancers dataset

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    Colon cancer is a significant global health problem, and early detection is critical for improving survival rates. Traditional detection methods, such as colonoscopies, can be invasive and uncomfortable for patients. Machine Learning (ML) algorithms have emerged as a promising approach for non-invasive colon cancer classification using genetic data or patient demographics and medical history. One approach is to use ML to analyse genetic data, or patient demographics and medical history, to predict the likelihood of colon cancer. However, due to the challenges imposed by variable gene expression and the high dimensionality of cancer-related datasets, traditional transductive ML applications have limited accuracy and risk overfitting. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid feature selection model called HMLFSM–Hybrid Machine Learning Feature Selection Model to improve colon cancer gene classification. We developed a multifilter hybrid model including a two-phase feature selection approach, combining Information Gain (IG) and Genetic Algorithms (GA), and minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (mRMR) coupling with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). We critically tested our model on three colon cancer genetic datasets and found that the new framework outperformed other models with significant accuracy improvements (95%, ~97%, and ~94% accuracies for datasets 1, 2, and 3 respectively). The results show that our approach improves the classification accuracy of colon cancer detection by highlighting important and relevant genes, eliminating irrelevant ones, and revealing the genes that have a direct influence on the classification process. For colon cancer gene analysis, and along with our experiments and literature review, we found that selective input feature extraction prior to feature selection is essential for improving predictive performance

    The Role of Hibiscus sabdariffa

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    Hematopoietic stem cells- (HSCs-) based therapy requires ex vivo expansion of HSCs prior to therapeutic use. However, ex vivo culture was reported to promote excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), exposing HSCs to oxidative damage. Efforts to overcome this limitation include the use of antioxidants. In this study, the role of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Roselle) in maintenance of cultured murine bone marrow-derived HSCs was investigated. Aqueous extract of Roselle was added at varying concentrations (0–1000 ng/mL) for 24 hours to the freshly isolated murine bone marrow cells (BMCs) cultures. Effects of Roselle on cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and DNA damage were investigated. Roselle enhanced the survival (P<0.05) of BMCs at 500 and 1000 ng/mL, increased survival of Sca-1+ cells (HSCs) at 500 ng/mL, and maintained HSCs phenotype as shown from nonremarkable changes of surface marker antigen (Sca-1) expression in all experimental groups. Roselle increased (P<0.05) the GSH level and SOD activity but the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was unaffected. Moreover, Roselle showed significant cellular genoprotective potency against H2O2-induced DNA damage. Conclusively, Roselle shows novel property as potential supplement and genoprotectant against oxidative damage to cultured HSCs
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