An analysis of the pragmatic functions of idiomatic expressions in the Egyptian novel ‘Taxi’

The purpose of the study is to investigate the idiomatic expressions and their pragmatic functions in the conversations of the novel Taxi in the light of Speech Act Theory. The study adopts a qualitative linguistic analysis method of research. After analyzing the 58 episodes of the novel ’Taxi’, the study reveals 80 idiomatic expressions fulfilling 13 pragmatic functions: describing with six subcategories, complaining, stating, concluding, and swearing, thanking, condoling, sympathizing, deploring and excusing, agreeing and opposing and advising. These pragmatic functions have been classified based on four of Searle’s speech acts: (1) representatives, (2) expressives, (3) commissives and (4) directives. Hence, the study shows that idiomatic expressions fulfill a satisfying number of pragmatic functions which in turn operate in facilitating conversations among speakers as they are stored in their memory and easily retrieved in diverse contexts. In addition, the study shows the high usage of negative pragmatic functions such as complaining, deploring, describing negative issues in comparison with positive ones in the conversations of taxi drivers. It has been also observed that these positive and negative functions shed light on a multitude of cultural aspects in Egyptian society. The study suggests pedagogical implication: the result that the idiomatic expressions perform various pragmatic functions and fulfill cultural aspects provides a rationale for including them in Arabic foreign language classes as their main aim is to use the language appropriately and achieve cultural competence as well

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus primary surgery in advanced ovarian carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced ovarian cancer should be treated by radical debulking surgery aiming at complete tumor resection. Unfortunately about 70% of the patients present with advanced disease, when optimal debulking can not be obtained, and therefore these patients gain little benefit from surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been proposed as a novel therapeutic approach in such cases. In this study, we report our results with primary surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy as treatment modalities in the specific indication of operable patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (no medical contraindication to debulking surgery). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 59 patients with stage III or IV epithelial ovarian carcinomas were evaluated between 1998 and 2003. All patients were submitted to surgical exploration aiming to evaluate tumor resectability. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given (in 27 patients) where optimal cytoreduction was not feasible. Conversely primary debulking surgery was performed when we considered that optimal cytoreduction could be achieved by the standard surgery (32 patients). RESULTS: Optimal cytoreduction was higher in the NACT group (72.2%) than the conventional group (62.4%), though not statistically significant (P = 0.5). More important was the finding that parameters of surgical aggressiveness (blood loss rates, ICU stay and total hospital stay) were significantly lower in NACT group than the conventional group. The median overall survival time was 28 months in the conventional group and 25 months in NACT group with a P value of 0.5. The median disease free survival was 19 months in the conventional group and 21 months in NACT group (P = 0.4). In multivariate analysis, the pathologic type and degree of debulking were found to affect the disease free survival significantly. Overall survival was not affected by any of the study parameters. CONCLUSION: Primary chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery in select group of patients doesn't appear to worsen the prognosis, but it permits a less aggressive surgery to be performed

Securing Programmable Analog ICs Against Piracy

International audienceIn this paper, we demonstrate a security approach for the class of highly-programmable analog Integrated Circuits (ICs) that can be used as a countermeasure for unauthorized chip use and piracy. The approach relies on functionality locking, i.e. a lock mechanism is introduced into the design such that unless the correct key is provided the functionality breaks. We show that for highly-programmable analog ICs the programmable fabric can naturally be used as the lock mechanism. We demonstrate the approach on a multi-standard RF receiver with configuration settings of 64-bit words

Physically based cold regions river flood prediction in data-sparse regions: The Yukon River Basin flow forecasting system

Global Water Futures; Yukon EnvironmentPeer ReviewedThe Yukon River Basin (YRB) is one of the most important river networks shared between Canada and The United States, and is one of the largest river basins in the subarctic region of North America. The Canadian part of the YRB is characterized by steeply sloped, partly glaciated mountain headwaters that generate considerable runoff during melt of glaciers and seasonal snow-cover. Snow redistribution, snowmelt, glacier melt and freezing–thawing soil processes in winter and spring along with summertime rainfall-runoff and evapotranspiration processes are thus key components of streamflow generation in the basin, making conceptual rainfall-runoff models unsuitable for this cold region. Due to the remote high latitudes and high altitudes of the basin, there is a paucity of observational data, making heavily calibrated conceptual modeling approaches infeasible. At the request of the Yukon Government, this project developed and operationalized a streamflow forecasting system for the Yukon River and several of its tributary rivers using a distributed land surface modeling approach developed for large-scale implementation in cold regions. This represents a substantial advance in bringing operational hydrological forecasting to the Canadian subarctic for the first time. This experience will inform future research to operation improvements as Canada develops a nationally coordinated flood forecast system

Yukon River Basin Streamflow Forecasting System

Prepared for Government of Yukon, Yukon Environment, Water Resources Branch, Whitehorse, YukonGovernment of Yukon Water Resources BranchNon-Peer ReviewedThe Yukon River Basin is one of the main rivers in the Arctic region of North America and is shared between Canada and the US. The Canadian part covers almost half of the Yukon Territory in addition to a small portion of the province of British Columbia, while the US part falls totally within the state of Alaska. This study is concerned with Canadian part of the Yukon River with its outlet at Eagle, just across the border in Alaska. Small parts of this catchment are in Alaska. This basin has an area of 288,000 km2, from 58.8 – 65.6°N and 129.2 – 134.1°W. The southern part of the basin is characterized by large glaciers at high elevations (up to 4700 m above sea level) with steep slopes, and thus generates considerable runoff. There are also mountain ranges on the eastern and northern boundaries of the basin, while the western areas are milder in slope and partially forested. Snow redistribution, snowmelt, glacier melt and frozen soil processes in winter and spring along with summertime rainfall-runoff and evapotranspiration processes are thus key to the simulation of streamflow in the basin. This project developed, set up, calibrated, validated, and operationalized a streamflow discharge forecasting system for the Yukon River and several of its tributary rivers within the Yukon Territory. The Yukon River Basin streamflow forecasting system is based around the MESH (Modélisation Environmentale Communautaire - Surface and Hydrology) hydrological land surface model. MESH is a state-of-the-art semi-distributed cold regions hydrological land surface model that models both the vertical exchanges of heat and moisture between the land surface and the atmosphere as well has the horizontal transfer of water to streams that is routed hydrologically to the outlet of the basin. It includes snow, frozen soil and glacier processes as well as the full suite of warm season hydrology. MESH is driven by the Environment and Climate Change Canada GEM weather model and hindcasts are driven by GEM-CaPA which is a data assimilation product that uses local precipitation observations where they exist. The rivers forecasted includes the Yukon River Basin upstream of Eagle, AK and the Porcupine River Basin near the international boundary. MESH provides supplemental high resolution simulations and forecasts for the Klondike, Stewart, Pelly and White Rivers at their mouths. Daily river discharge and water balance forecasts are produced by the system for each river basin. Having MESH run at both 10 km and 5 km resolution provides an assessment of model resolution needed for forecasting and also of model uncertainty in the forecasts. The MESH model was driven by GEM-CaPA for hindcasts and with the GEM ECCC Regional and Global Deterministic Prediction Systems - RDPS and GDPS forecasts for forecasts of 2 and 9 days. The GEM-MESH model showed good to very good predictions in most river basins after calibration and parameter selection, with challenges for the Porcupine and White rivers due to permafrost and wetlands (Porcupine) and to extensive icefields (White) and overall to sparse to non-existent observed precipitation data to assimilate into the CaPA system. The forecast system is capable of providing reliable streamflow predictions and is run with automated scripts on Amazon Web Services. Future development of the forecasting system should focus on the very challenging permafrost hydrology of the Porcupine River Basin, and the glacier hydrology of the White River which drains the largest icefields in North America. The model does not include a river ice component, but one could be added in the future

Chemical Profiling of Significant Antioxidant and Phytotoxic Microwave-Extracted Essential Oil from Araucaria heterophylla Resin

Due to the various hazards of using synthetic chemical compounds in pharmaceutics, agriculture, and industry, scientists and researchers do their best to explore and assess new green natural compounds from natural resources with potent activity. The essential oil (EO) from the resin collected from Araucaria heterophylla Salisb. was extracted by the microwave technique and chemically characterized via GC-MS analysis. Furthermore, the extract EO was assessed for its antioxidant and phytotoxic activities. The EO has 33 compounds, mainly terpenes (98.23%), and the major compounds were α-pinene (62.57%), β-pinene (6.60%), germacrene D (5.88%), and β-caryophyllene (3.56%). The extracted EO showed substantial antioxidant activity, where it showed IC50 values of 142.42 and 118.03 mg L−1 for DPPH and ABTS, respectively. On the other hand, the EO revealed considerable phytotoxicity against the weed Chenopodium murale, where the EO showed IC50 values of 304.0, 230.1, and 147.1 mg L−1, for seed germination, seedling shoot growth, and seedling root growth, respectively. Moreover, the EO showed the same pattern of allelopathic inhibition against the weed Sonchus oleraceus, where it showed IC50 values of 295.7, 224.5, and 106.1 mg L−1, for seed germination, seedling shoot growth, and seedling root growth, respectively. The present study showed that the extraction technique affects the constituents of the EO, particularly the quantitative composition. The EO of A. heterophylla resin also revealed considerable antioxidant and phytotoxic activity against weeds. Therefore, it can be considered a promising natural resource that could be integrated into the weed management approach. However, further study is recommended for deep characterization of their authentic compounds and evaluation of their mode of action(s) on a wide spectrum of weeds

The Determinant of Subjective Well-Being among the adult individuals in the UAE

Background: Enhancing individual wellbeing is a national priority in the United Arab Emirates. Up to date, wellbeing at the country level was measured through the national wellbeing survey that is sector specific comprising of 122 questions. The “World Health Organization 5 items (WHO-5) Well-being Index” is a reliable instrument to assess Subjective Well-Being, yet was never tested at national level in the UAE. Aim: This study examined the association of socio-economic determinants of health with the subjective well-being (SWB) using WHO-5 Well-being Index to inform public health policy in the UAE. Method: A cross-sectional survey from adults (aged 18+ and above) was conducted. About 10,000 individuals were randomly selected across all the seven Emirates. A total of 7367 adults (18 years and above) took part in the survey (response rate was 74%). The WHO-5 instrument is a valid screening measure as it includes only 5 items, is freely available in at least thirty-one languages, and is tremendously easy to complete, interpret and score. The social support of the respondents was evaluated by using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: The results of the study demonstrate that majority of the participants (79.27%) reported moderate - high (≥50) well-being scores showing the good quality of life/well-being, whereas, only 20.72% of the individual reported ill-being/likely depression in the future. Respondent’s age, gender, marital status, monthly income (AED- UAE dirham), employment status and reporting at least one or more morbidity were found to be significantly associated with the SWB variables (p < 0.05). A significant association was found between the comprehensive/emotional and /mental well-being and perceived social support. Conclusion: The WHO-5 index can be used as a reliable screening tool to identify wellbeing inequalities among adult individuals based on socio-economic determinants of health in the UAE. Addressing the socio- Hira Abdul Razzak1, Dr. Alya Harbi2, Ms. Mubarkah Jaber AlKarbi3, Dr. Amin Mohamed ElShamy4 , Dr. Lubna Al Shaali5, Dr. Rasha E Salama6 , Ms. Malaz Bakri7, Dr. Ahmed Alosi8, Ms. Amna AlDhmanie9 1678 © 2021 JPPW. All rights reserved economic determinants of health in the UAE can enhance subjective well-being (SWB) and help the UAE to achieve its strategic aspiration to make the UAE among the world leaders in quality of life

In vitro anti-inflammatory and acetylcholinesterase inhibition efficiency of plant extracts from Sinai-Egypt

635-641Ten plant extracts were prepared and tested in in vitro assays against COX-2, COX-1 and acetylcholinesterase with evaluation of their antioxidant properties. The tested extracts exhibited varied anti COX-2 effect and they were superior to celecoxibe (inhibition percentage was 42.67% at 50 µg/mL), reference drug. Lavandula coronopifolia and Scrophularia Libanotica extracts were the efficient inhibitors (100% and 91% at 50 µg/mL respectively). Launaeaspinosa and Pulicaria undulata were the powerful AChE inhibitor (IC50 values were 16.69 and 29.06 µg/mL, respectively) followed with L. coronopifolia and S.libanotica extracts (IC50 values were 61.89 and 49.83 µg/mL, respectively) and they were efficient in scavenging superoxide radicals and metal ions, nitric oxide formation inhibition, as well as, lipid peroxide production suppression. L. coronopifolia and S. Libanotica extracts can be introduced as natural cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors without affecting cyclooxygenase-1 whereas L. spinosa and P. undulata extracts were potent suppressor for AChE with robust antioxidant properties which suggest the possibility of using the four extracts, L. coronopifolia, S. libanotica, L. spinosa and P. undulata as natural agent in treating neurodegenerative disorder

In vitro anti-inflammatory and acetylcholinesterase inhibition efficiency of plant extracts from Sinai-Egypt

Ten plant extracts were prepared and tested in in vitro assays against COX-2, COX-1 and acetylcholinesterase with evaluation of their antioxidant properties. The tested extracts exhibited varied anti COX-2 effect and they were superior to celecoxibe (inhibition percentage was 42.67% at 50 µg/mL), reference drug. Lavandula coronopifolia and Scrophularia Libanotica extracts were the efficient inhibitors (100% and 91% at 50 µg/mL respectively). Launaeaspinosa and Pulicaria undulata were the powerful AChE inhibitor (IC50 values were 16.69 and 29.06 µg/mL, respectively) followed with L. coronopifolia and S.libanotica extracts (IC50 values were 61.89 and 49.83 µg/mL, respectively) and they were efficient in scavenging superoxide radicals and metal ions, nitric oxide formation inhibition, as well as, lipid peroxide production suppression. L. coronopifolia and S. Libanotica extracts can be introduced as natural cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors without affecting cyclooxygenase-1 whereas L. spinosa and P. undulata extracts were potent suppressor for AChE with robust antioxidant properties which suggest the possibility of using the four extracts, L. coronopifolia, S. libanotica, L. spinosa and P. undulata as natural agent in treating neurodegenerative disorder