A Look at Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation is deeply rooted in misogyny and sexism. This paper looks at current and past efforts of NGOs and other organizations that have tried to eradicate the practice in many countries, mainly in Africa. The strategies and techniques of these organizations have failed for many reasons, this paper highlights those that have worked and those that have failed. The next possible steps to reduce the practice have been proposed in the paper

Modification of bacterial cell membrane to accelerate decolorization of textile wastewater effluent using microbial fuel cells: role of gamma radiation

The aim of the present work was to increase bacterial adhesion on anode via inducing membrane modifications to enhance textile wastewater treatment in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). Real textile wastewater was used in mediator-less MFCs for bacterial enrichment. The enriched bacteria were pre-treated by exposure to 1 KGy gamma radiation and were tested in MFC setup. Bacterial cell membrane permeability and cell membrane charges were measured using noninvasive dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The results show that pre-treatment using gamma radiation resulted in biofilm formation and increased cell permeability and exopolysaccharide production; this was reflected in both MFC performance (average voltage 554.67 mV) and decolorization (96.42%) as compared to 392.77 mV and 60.76% decolorization for non-treated cells. At the end of MFC operation, cytotoxicity test was performed for treated wastewater using a dermal cell line, the results obtained show a decrease in toxicity from 24.8 to 0 (v/v%) when cells were exposed to gamma radiation. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed an increase in exopolysaccharides in bacterial consortium exposed to increasing doses of gamma radiation suggesting that gamma radiation increased exopolysaccharide production, providing transient media for electron transfer and contributing to accelerating MFC performance. Modification of bacterial membrane prior to MFC operation can be considered highly effective as a pre-treatment tool that accelerates MFC performance

New Flame Retardant and Antimicrobial Paints Based on Epoxy Paint Incorporated by Hexachlorocylodiphosphazane Derivatives for Protective Coating

Flame retardants can be incorporated into polymeric material either as additives or as reactive materials. Additive type flame retardants are widely used by means of blending them with a specific polymeric material. In this particular research, hexachlorocylodiphosphazane derivatives type (I-II) were synthesized for use as flame retardant and antimicrobial additives with epoxy varnish. These additives are physically incorporated into the epoxy varnish formula. Experimental coatings were manufactured on a laboratory scale and applied by brush on wood and steel panels. The fire retardant ability of each coating type was characterized using the limiting oxygen index (LOI) test. The mechanical properties of these flame retardants were also examined to evaluate the drawbacks of the additives. Results of the LOI indicated that coating with these compounds containing chlorine, nitrogen and phosphorus exhibit a very good retardant effect, when blended with epoxy varnish comparing with the blanket sample which not contain on the hexachlorocylodiphosphazane derivative as a additives. The hexachlorocylodiphosphazane derivative also exhibit mild results as preservative against microbiological attack. The mechanical properties of the painted dry films were investigated acordinting to ASTM

Investigation of furo[2,3-h]- and pyridazino[3,4-f]cinnolin-3-ol scaffolds as substrates for the development of novel HIV-1 integrase inhibitors

With the aim to develop novel HIV-1 integrase inhibitors, we obtained a set of condensed ring systems based on the furo[2,3-h]cinnolin-3(2H)-one and pyridazino[3,4-f]cinnolin-3-ol scaffolds bearing a potential chelating pharmacophore, which can be involved in the inhibition mechanism of the enzyme. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, structural investigation and preliminary biological results of these heteroaromatic systems

Modelling and Digital Mapping of the Infiltration Characteristics of Major Agricultural Soils

A study was attempted to assess the infiltration characteristics of major soils of Sohag governorate, Egypt. Twelve soil profiles were exposed and morphologically examined to represent the soils of the study area. Horizon-wise soil samples were taken and analyzed for physical and chemical properties. The infiltration field measurements were made for five hours using a double-ring infiltrometer, and the empirical Kostiakov’s infiltration model was applied. The results indicated that the soils were classified as Aridisols, Entisols, and Vertisols. Initial infiltration rates ranged between 0.80 and 6.67 m/day. The highest values (6.47 and 6.67 m/day) were observed in locations No. 11 and 12, where the coarse texture prevailed. The fine texture soils recorded the lowest values (0.80, 0.81, and 0.82 m/day) in locations No. 8, 4, and 7, respectively. Infiltration rate is classified as very rapid, rapid, moderately rapid, and moderate. A correlation was found between steady infiltration rates and sand, hydraulic conductivity, CaCO3 content, and organic carbon in order r=0.95, 0.93, 0.74, and 0.79. However, were found to be negatively correlated with the infiltration rates (r= -0.80, -0.91, -0.95, -0.97, -0.64, -0.91, respectively. Whereas bulk density showed an insignificant relationship (p=0.05) with infiltration rates in the order of r=0.13. GIS environment was used to generate different maps of soil parameters, and finally, the infiltration map was produced for the study area

Ensuring a sustainable hospitality and tourism industry in the COVID-19 era:using an open market valuation technique

Tourism has always been one of the most profitable service industries. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is facing some big problems. As a result, the tourism industry lost a lot of money. This paper aims to find and rank recovery solutions to help the tourism industry. This article investigates two key areas: firstly, how government aid can best be prioritised among the various subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry, and secondly, whether public assessment of the measures the US government took against the pandemic is related to the outlook for recovery, including the role played by perceptions of government performance and efficacy at handling the crisis and self-efficacy in terms of avoiding infection. Two studies were conducted among US consumers, using different methods of data collection and analysis. The first study utilised an open market valuation technique to explore how governmental aid might be prioritised among the tourism and hospitality industries. The second study used AMOS/SEM to examine travellers’ positive perceptions of the likelihood of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. Study 1 found that all six industry subsectors investigated (hotels, airlines, restaurants, car rentals, casinos and cruise lines) had been influenced negatively by COVID-19, with the heaviest impact felt by hotels and cruise lines. Study 2 indicated that the level of public satisfaction with the US government’s performance in addressing the pandemic was positively related to expectations of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. The findings could guide policymakers in deciding how best to allocate public funds between the different subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry

CaO impregnated highly porous honeycomb activated carbon from agriculture waste: symmetrical supercapacitor study

This study presents the electrochemical studies of activated carbon prepared from palm kernel shell (ACPKS), with CaO impregnation. The CaO is obtained from chicken eggshell waste to produce CaO/ACPKS, which shows highly porous honeycomb structure with homogeneous distribution of CaO nanoparticles (30–50 nm in size). The prepared materials are evaluated as supercapacitor electrodes by testing their electrochemical characteristics. A high specific capacitance value of 222 F g−1 at 0.025 A g−1 is obtained for CaO/ACPKS, which is around three times higher than that for ACPKS (76 F g−1). In addition, electrochemical impedance data show lower impedance for CaO/ACPKS. Lastly, a practical symmetrical supercapacitor is fabricated by CaO/ACPKS and its performance is discussed