SAUDI-IRANIAN RAPPROCHEMENT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SECURITY AND STABILITY OF THE MIDDLE EAST: A CASE STUDY OF YEMEN AND SYRIA

  This research paper investigates the implications of Saudi-Iranian rapprochement for Middle East security and stability, with a particular focus on Yemen and Syria as case studies. Iran and Saudi Arabia, as the most prominent regional actors in the Middle East, are also viewed as rivals due to their political and geographical positions. The Middle East's security and stability have been threatened by the ongoing rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the past two decades. As a result, both countries have been involved in multiple proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, as well as the Sunni-Shia sectarian conflict in the region. The study highlights the multifaceted effects of Saudi-Iranian rapprochement on ongoing wars, security dynamics, and Middle Eastern stability by examining the case studies of Yemen and Syria. This study seeks to address the following inquiries: What major factors have prompted the two states to engage in negotiations and even consider resuming diplomatic relations? What are the ramifications of this rapprochement on the security and stability of the region, with a particular focus on Yemen and Syria? This study improves our knowledge of the complex Saudi-Iranian relationship and its consequences for regional security. The insights gained from the case studies of Yemen and Syria provide significant perspectives on the broader ramifications of the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement. These findings can assist policymakers, scholars, and stakeholders in comprehending the shifting dynamics of the Middle East and fostering increased stability and security in this region.

A novel technique for evaluating the degradation of engine components non-destructively

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Impedance spectroscopy (IS) was used to evaluate the microstructural changes of a thermally-grown oxide (TGO) layer on a nickel-based superalloy or bond coat, with or without a thermal barrier coating (TBC) system, at various temperatures. TBC is used for hot section parts of gas turbine engine, such as turbine blades and vanes. However, spallation of TBC can take place due to long-term operation at high temperature. The spallation is mainly caused by both microstructural changes and thermal stresses as a result of oxide layer (mainly alumina) formation and growth at the interface between the TBC and bond coat. The electrical resistance and capacitance of the oxide layer, formed from oxidation of IN738LC superalloy at high temperature, were obtained from fitting the results of the measured impedance diagrams based on an equivalent circuit model. The equivalent circuit model should represent the features of the oxide layer or the TBC system. The electrical resistance of the oxide layer increased with increasing oxidation time for samples exposed to air at 900°C. Similar results were obtained for the NiCrCoAIY bond coat samples and the TBC systems. The capacitance decreased with increasing thickness of the alumina layer. The activation energy of electrical conduction was used to characterise the alumina layer formed on the bond coat at 900°C, 1000°C and 1100°C. The activation energy values for the alumina layer, formed at various temperatures, decrease with increasing impurity or porosity. Changes in the electrical properties of TGOs are correlated with those in their microstructure and microchemistry. The degradation of a TBC can be identified, when the electrical resistance of the TGO decreases with increasing oxidation time. The fast decrease in resistivity corresponds to the compositional change in the TGO from cc-Al2O3 to a mixture of a-Cr2O3 and (Ni or Co)(Cr or Al)2O4 spinel. The disappearance of a-A1203 in the TGO makes the scale non-protective and leads to cracks and spallation of TBCs. Non-destructive testing of the crack formation in a TBC system is essential for predicting the failure and lifetime of TBCs in service. IS was used to evaluate the crack formation in the TBC system due to thermal cycling. During the thermal cycling, cracks initiated and propagated along the interface between the TGO and the yttrium stabilised zirconia (YSZ), used as a TBC. This caused the spallation of the TBC eventually. The propagation of cracks at the interface of TGO/YSZ was found to contribute to an increase in the interfacial impedance. The interfacial area determines the interfacial resistance corresponding to the oxygen reaction. Therefore, the crack propagation induced an increase of the interfacial resistance, whereas the interfacial capacitance showed no trend in its alteration with the propagation of the cracks. As a result, the relaxation frequency of the interface moved towards a lower frequency during the propagation of the cracks. Therefore, impedance spectroscopy has been used to examine the crack formation in TBC system non-destructively. By using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, the composition and microstructure of the oxide scales were examined. It was found that their electrical properties were determined, not only by the microstructure of the oxide scales, but also by the composition of the oxide scales. By determining the relationship between the electrical properties, microstructure and composition of the oxide scales, IS could be used as a non-destructive technique for monitoring the oxidation of metallic alloys at high temperature in gas turbine engine components.This study is funded by the EPSRC and Alstom gas turbine Ltd

Smart Manufacturing Technologies for Printed Electronics

Fabrication of electronic devices on different flexible substrates is an area of significant interest due to low cost, ease of fabrication, and manufacturing at ambient conditions over large areas. Over the time, a number of printing technologies have been developed to fabricate a wide range of electronic devices on nonconventional substrates according to the targeted applications. As an increasing interest of electronic industry in printed electronics, further expansion of printed technologies is expected in near future to meet the challenges of the field in terms of scalability, yield, and diversity and biocompatibility. This chapter presents a comprehensive review of various printing electronic technologies commonly used in the fabrication of electronic devices, circuits, and systems. The different printing techniques based on contact/noncontact approach of the printing tools with the target substrates have been explored. These techniques are assessed on the basis of ease of operation, printing resolutions, processability of materials, and ease of optimization of printed structures. The various technical challenges in printing techniques, their solutions with possible alternatives, and the potential research directions are highlighted. The latest developments in assembling various printing tools for enabling high speed and batch manufacturing through roll-to-roll systems are also explored

Purification and Characterization of Plantaricinvgw8, A Bacteriocin Produced by Lactobacillus Plantarum VGW8

PlantaricinVGW8, a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum VGW8 was purified by two steps method including extraction with n-butanol followed by gel filtration chromatography on Sepharose 6B column, the results showed that the specific activity was 10666.67AU/mg protein with 13.067purification folds and 12% recovery yield. Plantaricin VGW8 was characterized and the results showed that the molecular weight of it was 14400 Dalton by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Plantaricin VGW8 activity was stable at pH values (3-9) but 50% of its activity was lost at (2 and 10) pH values, and whole activity was lost at extreme alkali pH values(11 and 12).Also, plantaricin VGW8 showed high thermostability at different temperatures (20- 100)°C for (10,30 and 60)min, it remained active after being treated with (20- 80)°C for the periods above, but it retained only 50% of its activity after treatment at 100°C for one hour and autoclaving treatment (121°C/ 15 min).Also, the results showed that the activity of plantaricin VGW8 disappeared when it treated with proteolytic enzymes (pepsin, trypsin and papain), whereas it retained whole activity when treated with lipase, lysozyme and ?-amylase, indicating pure proteinaceous nature of purified plantaricin. As well as, treatment of plantaricin VGW8 with organic solvents (chloroform, acetonitrile, diethyl ether, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, toluene and ethyl acetate), surfactants (tween 80, tween 20, triton X-100, SDS, EDTA and urea) and the metal ions: Na, K, Ca, Ba, Zn and Fe, showed no effect of these treatments on the activity of plantaricin VGW8, while treatment with Mn and Mg reduced its activity to the half. In conclusion, the characteristics of plantaricin VGW8 are promising for application of it in the food production processes as food preservative instead of chemicals food preservatives. Keywords: purification of plantaricin, Lactobacillus plantarum, plantaricin activity, characterization of plantaricin

Bacterial Contamination of Computer Keyboards and Mice in a University Setting

In order to investigate the status of bacterial contamination of computer components , 50 samples (25 from keyboards and 25 from mice ) were collected from the main internet center located in Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad ,Iraq. Depending on the cultural, microscopic and biochemical examinations , A total of 59 isolates comprising 9 bacterial species were recovered from these samples ,the frequencies of occurrence of the species were; Bacillus spp. (25.42%), Staphylococcus aureus(18.64%), Staphylococcus epidermidis(10.17%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.95%), Shigella spp. (15.25%), Klebsilla spp. (5.1% ), Salmonella spp. (3.39% ), Proteus spp. (3.39% ), and Citrobacter spp. (1.7%). These results indicate that the computer keyboards and mice might act as environmental vehicles for the transmission of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the university settings and also indicate the need for increasing awareness among computer users on cleaning of such surfaces or disinfection and adequate hand-washing hygiene. Keywords: Bacterial contamination , computer keyboards, computer mice, university setting ,Iraq

Microarray data classification using automatic SVM kernel selection

Microarray data classification is one of the most important emerging clinical applications in the medical community. Machine learning algorithms are most frequently used to complete this task. We selected one of the state-of-the-art kernel-based algorithms, the support vector machine (SVM), to classify microarray data. As a large number of kernels are available, a significant research question is what is the best kernel for patient diagnosis based on microarray data classification using SVM? We first suggest three solutions based on data visualization and quantitative measures. Different types of microarray problems then test the proposed solutions. Finally, we found that the rule-based approach is most useful for automatic kernel selection for SVM to classify microarray data.<br /

Investigation of energy storage systems, its advantage and requirement in various locations in Australia

Storage minimizes the intermittent nature of renewable sources. Solar and wind are the two fostered source of renewable energy. However, the availability of useful solar radiation and wind speed varies with geographical locations, and also the duration of this energy sources varies with seasonal variation. With the available vast open land and geographical position, Australia has great potential for both solar and wind energies. However, both these sources require energy buffering to support load demand to ensure required power quality. Electricity demand is increasing gradually, and also Australia has target to achieve 20% electricity from renewable sources by 2020. For effective utilization of solar and wind energy potential location of these sources needs to be identified, and effective size of storage needs to be estimated for best utilization according to the load demand. Therefore this paper investigated wind speed and solar radiation data of 210 locations in Australia, identified the potential locations, and estimated required storage in various potential locations to support residential load demand. Advantages of storage were analyzed in terms of loading on distribution transformer and storage support during energy fluctuation from renewable energy. Further analysis showed that storage greatly reduces greenhouse gas emission and reduces overall cost of energy by maximizing the use of solar and wind energies

Smart driving : a new approach to meeting driver needs

The use of machine learning algorithms in different automated applications is increasing rapidly. The effectiveness of algorithms performances helps the user to operate their machine accurately and on time. Road sign classification is a very common type of problem for an automated driving support system. In this research, road speeding measure and sign identification is conducted using four popular machine learning algorithms to develop a smart driving system. This system informs forward-looking decision making and the initiation of suitable actions to prevent any future disastrous events. The robustness of the classification algorithms is examined for classification accuracy through 10-fold cross validation and confusion matrix. Experimental results proofs that the accuracy of Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Neural Network (NN) is almost 100 % and it is very promising compared to the earlier research performance. However, in terms of computational complexity NN is a slower classifier. Therefore, the experimental results suggest that SVM can make an effective interpretation and point out the ability of design of a new intelligent speed control system