Low income housing in Abu Dhabi

The provision of houses for the tribal society in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi constitutes a major problem which greatly aggravates the housing problem in general. The major cause of this problem is that the designers of housing schemes have no sufficient understanding of the tribal traditions and requirements, necessary to provide the local people with convenient dwelling units that correspond with their social behaviour pattern. Ever since oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi, the government has developed an ambitious housing policy to serve the provision of local people with houses. The policy has been carried out for the last 25 years, where the government decided to :- 1. design convenient dwelling units for the local people; 2. plan new neighbourhoods and supply them with a sufficient infrastructure; 3. construct the dwelling units and maintain them once the local people have become their legal owners. The objectives of this policy were to provide the proper environment for the local people. There has been a great change in the design of housing schemes ever since this policy started. A number of foreign architects were involved in the development of a variety of low cost housing types, and inevitably their different cultural backgrounds influenced the design solutions. Many of their schemes use layouts and construction systems which contradict local bahaviour patterns and climatic conditions. During this period of 25 years Abu Dhabi has developed extensive experience in the field of housing but it is not always positive. This experience is worth registering, analysing and evaluating.The provision of houses for the tribal society in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi constitutes a major problem which greatly aggravates the housing problem in general. The major cause of this problem is that the designers of housing schemes have no sufficient understanding of the tribal traditions and requirements, necessary to provide the local people with convenient dwelling units that correspond with their social behaviour pattern. Ever since oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi, the government has developed an ambitious housing policy to serve the provision of local people with houses. The policy has been carried out for the last 25 years, where the government decided to :- 1. design convenient dwelling units for the local people; 2. plan new neighbourhoods and supply them with a sufficient infrastructure; 3. construct the dwelling units and maintain them once the local people have become their legal owners. The objectives of this policy were to provide the proper environment for the local people. There has been a great change in the design of housing schemes ever since this policy started. A number of foreign architects were involved in the development of a variety of low cost housing types, and inevitably their different cultural backgrounds influenced the design solutions. Many of their schemes use layouts and construction systems which contradict local bahaviour patterns and climatic conditions. During this period of 25 years Abu Dhabi has developed extensive experience in the field of housing but it is not always positive. This experience is worth registering, analysing and evaluating

Special Libraries, April 1933

Volume 24, Issue 3https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1933/1002/thumbnail.jp

Kinetic, Isotherm and Thermodynamic Aspects of Zn²⁺ Biosorption by <i>Spirulina platensis</i>: Optimization of Process Variables by Response Surface Methodology

The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of Spirulina platensis for removing Zn2+ ions from the aqueous solutions. The optimized conditions of 4.48 g/L algal dose, pH of 6.62 and initial zinc concentration of 29.72 mg/L obtained by response surface methodology were employed for Zn2+ biosorption by S. platensis and up to 97.90% Zn2+ was removed, showing that there is a favorable harmony between the experimental data and model predictions. Different kinetic and equilibrium models were used to characterize the biosorption manner of Spirulina as a biosorbent. The kinetic manner of Zn2+ biosorption was well characterized by the pseudo-second-order, implying that the adsorption process is chemical in nature. The Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models were best fit to the equilibrium data. The maximum adsorption capacity of the Langmuir monolayer was 50.7 mg/g. Furthermore, the thermodynamic analysis revealed that Zn2+ biosorption was endothermic, spontaneous and feasible. As a result of biosorption process, FTIR, SEM, and EDX investigations indicated noticeable alterations in the algal biomass’s properties. Therefore, the dried Spirulina biomass has been shown to be cost-effective and efficient for removing the heavy metals, particularly zinc ions from wastewater, and the method is practicable, and environmentally acceptable

Assessment of the algae-based biofertilizer influence on date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivation

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the main fruit crop found in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. It naturally adapts to the adverse environments of extreme heat and water scarcity and prevents further desertification in addition to producing fruits with high nutritional value. It is seen in many parts of the world that traditional cultivation practices such as mixed planting and chemical fertilizers have led to low fruit quality resulting in low market values. Long generation time also hinders production of the dates. Tissue culture is therefore considered the most promising solution for rapid large-scale production of true-to-type clonal plants. The plantlets originating from in vitro callus proliferation are transferred from synthetic media to soil. The conventional method of using chemical fertilizers also leads to low plantlet viability with increased environmental and health risk. The current research targets the use of a local microalga, Tetraselmis sp. QUCCCM8, identified as an organic source of nutrients, a substitute for chemical fertilizers to acclimatize cultured date palmlets to soil. Soil was supplemented with different concentrations of algal biomass and plant growth was monitored for 3 months. Soil without any fertilizer and soil amended with 1 g conventional fertilizer were used as negative and positive control, respectively. Supplementation with 0.5 g of algal biomass led to higher plant growth rates, 100% survival rates, high ability of rooting (3.17 ± 0.14 roots), higher number of leaves (2.5 ± 0.25 leaves), largest stem thickness, longer shoot (33.75 ± 1.56 cm), and higher total chlorophyll (159.61 ± 9.6 mg L−1) as compared to conventional fertilizer. These stated findings are significantly higher than the control. Furthermore, elemental analysis of the soil showed that supplementation with algal biomass increased the soil total nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus contents essential for plant growth. Finally, the comparison of heavy metals composition between soils amended with conventional fertilizer and algae-based fertilizer highlights the potential use of algae as a safe and efficient biofertilizer post tissue culture mode of plantlet generation. This enhanced the viability of healthy plantlets without affecting the environment, averting usage of chemical fertilizers.Funding information This report was made possible by the NPRP award [NPRP8-1087-1-207] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).Scopu

The medicinal activity of lyophilized aqueous seed extract of Lepidium sativum L. in an androgenic alopecia model

Abstract This study evaluated the topical effect of Lepidium sativum lyophilized seed extract (LSLE) towards Sustanon-induced alopecia in male adult Wistar albino rats in vivo, compared to minoxidil topical reference standard drug (MRD). LC–MS/MS together with molecular networking was used to profile the metabolites of LSLE. LSLE treated group revealed significant changes in alopecia related biomarkers, perturbation of androgenic markers; decline in testosterone level and elevation in 5α-reductase (5-AR); decline in the cholesterol level. On the other hand, LSLE treated group showed improvement in vascular markers; CTGF, FGF and VEGF. Groups treated topically with minoxidil and LSLE showed significant improvement in hair length. LC–MS/MS profile of LSLE tentatively identified 17 constituents: mainly glucosinolates, flavonoid glycosides, alkaloids and phenolic acids. The results point to the potential role of LSLE in the treatment of alopecia through decreasing 5(alpha)-dihydrotestosterone levels. Molecular docking was attempted to evaluate the probable binding mode of identified compounds to androgen receptor (PDB code: 4K7A)