Being a woman in Egypt: Hopes, dreams, and restrictions.

This audio documentary is about how parent’s restrictions limit their daughters, adult women, from important life experiences. I focused on limits on traveling among other issues

Harmonic Phonon Transport in Strontium Titanate: experiment vs computation

Thermoelectric materials can be a boon for the temperature regulation industry, however, before its popular use as a green energy management solution, it is imperative that we uncover thermal transport in these materials. In the effort to discover better suited thermoelectrics, it is imperative that we are able to develop and test ab initio computational modelling methods to gain insight into the electronic and thermal properties of materials. This is not only cheaper and easier than neutron scattering experiments, but may also allow us to discover new materials that have the desired transport properties. In this thesis, we examine how well Density Functional Theory (and its derivatives) are able to model electronic and phonon properties in a well known pyrovskite thermoelectric, strontium titanate (STO). We used a number of DFT calculational software to probe the electronic and phonon dispersions, densities of state and dynamic structure factor of STO, and compare those results to inelastic neutron scattering results from the CAMEA multiplexing spectrometer at the Paul Schreer Institute in Switzerland. Another aspect of materials physics presented in this thesis is that of science communication and outreach in the form of the ”Shaking Matters” podcast produced and hosted by myself

The Effect of Site-Specific Spectral Densities on the High-Dimensional Exciton-Vibrational Dynamics in the FMO Complex

The coupled exciton-vibrational dynamics of a three-site model of the FMO complex is investigated using the Multi-layer Multi-configuration Time-dependent Hartree (ML-MCTDH) approach. Emphasis is put on the effect of the spectral density on the exciton state populations as well as on the vibrational and vibronic non-equilibrium excitations. Models which use either a single or site-specific spectral densities are contrasted to a spectral density adapted from experiment. For the transfer efficiency, the total integrated Huang-Rhys factor is found to be more important than details of the spectral distributions. However, the latter are relevant for the obtained non-equilibrium vibrational and vibronic distributions and thus influence the actual pattern of population relaxation.Comment: revised versio

Multi-Layer Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree (ML-MCTDH) Approach to the Correlated Exciton-Vibrational Dynamics in the FMO Complex

The coupled quantum dynamics of excitonic and vibrational degrees of freedom is investigated for high-dimensional models of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex. This includes a seven and an eight-site model with 518 and 592 harmonic vibrational modes, respectively. The coupling between local electronic transitions and vibrations is described within the Huang-Rhys model using parameters that are obtained by discretization of an experimental spectral density. Different pathways of excitation energy flow are analyzed in terms of the reduced one-exciton density matrix, focussing on the role of vibrational and vibronic excitation. Distinct features due to both competing time scales of vibrational and exciton motion and vibronically-assisted transfer are observed. The question of the effect of initial state preparation is addressed by comparing the case of an instantaneous Franck-Condon excitation at a single site with that of a laser field excitation.Comment: revised versio

Mining and identification of a potential subtilisin-like serine protease from the lower convective layer of the Atlantis II brine pool in the Red Sea

The Red Sea harbors a number of deep-sea brine pools with diverse chemical, physical, and geological conditions. One of the environments, the Atlantis II Brine Pool, is unique to the Red Sea. The deepest part of Atlantis II Brine Pool â the Lower Convective Layer (LCL) â is 2060 meters below the sea surface water, with 26% salinity, and a temperature of about 68 °C. Moreover, it is almost anoxic, and contains a very high concentration of heavy metals. We are interested in identifying subtilisin-like serine proteases, which are an important group of proteolytic enzymes with a broad range of use in biotechnological applications. Toward this goal, and in collaboration with King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), we collected water samples from this environment. Microbial DNA was isolated, and using pyrosequencing technology (454 Roche platform) we established a metagenome dataset composed of 1.34 millions reads with average length of around 390 nucleotides/read. In addition, we constructed a fosmid library composed of around 11,000 clones, representing 440 Mbp. Using annotated sequence information from the metagenomic sequencing dataset and a PCR-based method for fast screening, we identified a clone containing a sequence of 1194 base pairs comprising an open reading frame with high similarity to proteins of the predicted function. Further computational analysis revealed the presence of a ribosomal binding site, transcription regulatory elements in a promoter region and translation start/stop codons. In addition, the presence of a signal peptide and predictions of the protein localization allowed us to expect that the protein is likely to be adapted to extreme conditions such as high temperatures and salinity levels. Functional characterization of the protein and examination of activity and stability under a variety of conditions may lead to a beneficial biotechnological enzyme adapted to extreme environments

Economic Analysis of Supply Functions, Private Returns to Investment in Education and Skill Mismatch in Egypt

Education provides good health, empowerment and employment to all people in the society. Accordingly, education can make a lifelong difference in individuals’ lives. It is proved that, on average, there is a positive relationship between each additional year of schooling and the income of an individual. The main objective of this paper is to estimate the demand and supply functions for schooling in Egypt using the data of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2012. It is estimated that the private rate of return to education is 4.5%. Moreover, the rate of return to the number of years of experience is 2.6%, i.e. each additional year of experience will increase the earnings of an individual by 2.6% on average. It is concluded that individuals from poor families have an increased likelihood of receiving financial aid, which decreases their discounting rate of interest

Exploring the Influence of Decision Style on Decision Support System Acceptance by GPs

While clinical DSS have many proven benefits in the medical field, their uptake by GPs has been limited. This research explores the influence of decision styles as a possible explanatory variable for the usage of DSS. Insight into the reasons why GPs do not use clinical DSS will allow the development of strategies to facilitate more widespread adoption with consequent improvements across many areas. Depth interviews were conducted with 37 GPs comprising a mix of education backgrounds, experience and gender. In addition respondents completed a decisions styles questionnaire. Results indicated that users of DSS were more likely to have an integrative decision style while non users adopted a flexible decision style. Decision style was also strongly correlated to education with overseas trained doctors more likely to have integrative decision styles and Australian trained GPs exhibiting flexible styles

Changes in Lip Length and Strain after En-masse Retraction with Maximum Anchorage in Female Patients with Bimaxillary Protrusion

Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of en-masse retraction with maximum anchorage on the lip length, lip strain, and interlabial gap in adult female patients with bimaxillary protrusion. Materials and Methods: Thirteen patients underwent initial records including photographs, study casts, and cephalometric x-rays. En-masse retraction was performed using friction mechanics, with the use of temporary anchorage devices and power chains after the extraction of first premolars. The soft tissue was analyzed using lateral cephalometric radiographs before and after retraction. Results: The results showed that en-masse retraction had a significant effect on reducing lip strain, increasing lip length, and reducing interlabial gap. Conclusion: The findings suggest that en-masse retraction can be an effective tool in improving the soft tissue profile in patients with bimaxillary protrusio