The lexical organisation of monolingual Arabic-speaking 9-11 year old schoolchildren

The study’s aim is to investigate the lexical organisation in Arabic-speaking children in grades 4 and 5 to see whether they have undergone the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift – a reorganization of the mental lexicon to a more semantic-based organisation, which is estimated to have been undergone by the age of 10. The results are compared to previous studies on mono- and bilingual children. The study’s data was gathered in 2008 from 40 students attending schools in the city of Deir-ez-Zoor in Syria who were tested with Kent and Rosanoff’s word-association test (KR-list). The results show that less than half of the students have undergone the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift as expected for their age and therefore differ from studies regarding other mono- and bilingual students. A probable reason could be that the KR-list, which consists of 100 common nouns and adjectives, does not fully show the students’ lexical organisation due to the fact that Arabic is a verb-based language. Further studies using verb-based word association tests are needed in order to better reflect the lexical organisation in monolingual Arabic-speaking children.Studien undersöker lexikal organisation hos enspråkiga arabisktalande 9-11 åriga barn i årskurs 4 och 5 med avseende på det syntagmatisk-paradigmatiska skiftet – en omorganisation av ordförrådet till en mer semantisk uppbyggnad. Skiftet beräknas vara genomfört vid 10 års ålder. Resultaten jämförs med tidigare studieresultat på en- och flerspråkiga elever. Data från en insamling gjord år 2008 på 40 elever från skolor i staden Deir-ez-Zoor i Syrien används i studien. Eleverna testades med Kent och Rosanoffs ordassociationstest (KR-listan). Resultaten visar att mindre än hälften av barnen har gjort det syntagmatisk-paradigmatiska skiftet som förväntas för deras ålder, och skiljer sig från resultat för bland annat svensk-arabisktalande barn. En trolig orsak till detta är att KR-listan, som består av 100 vanliga substantiv och adjektiv, inte fullt återger barnens lexikala organisation eftersom arabiska är ett verbbaserat språk. Studier behöver göras med verbbaserade ordassociationstest för att bättre kartlägga den lexikala organisationen hos enspråkiga arabisktalande barn

Biological Control of Fusarium oxysporum Wilt Disease of Tomato by Antagonistic and Plant Growth Promoting Actinomycetes

Soil-borne fungal plant pathogens cause some of the most widespread and serious plant diseases. Root diseases caused by these pathogens such as wilt, root rot, collar rot, foot rot, seedling pre- and post-emergence damping-off are the foremost of problems which are gaining importance from day to day in the world and for which no direct control measures have been evolved so far. Fusarium spp. is a widespread soil-borne plant pathogen and is the causal agents of wilt disease of many economically important crops. Fusarium spp. is a limiting factor in the plant productivity in most agricultural soils. Wilt disease of tomato is a common problem in almost all field and greenhouse tomatoes. The disease is caused by different species of Fusarium and in the United Arab Emirates, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici is the common causal agent of the disease. The disease is an economic threats to commercial growers especially those who grow tomatoes under greenhouse humid conditions. At present, a combination of cultural practices and fungicide applications are used to control the diseases. The aim of the present thesis was to search for a modem dual plant protection and plant growth-promoting strategies by the application of beneficial rhizosphere-competent actinomycetes isolated from the UAE soils. In addition, improving the performance of the selected bio-control and plant-growth promoting actinomycetes isolates through the application of seaweed extract as a soil organic amendment was the target of the present thesis. To achieve this, eighty seven actinomycetes (65 streptomycete and 22 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) were isolated from tomato rhizosphere soil collected from a farm in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). All isolates were screened preliminary for their ability to produce cell-wall degrading enzymes (chitinase) using colloidal chitin agar. Of the 87 actinomycete isolates, only 31 isolates (25 streptomycete and 6 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) produced large clear zones (\u3e 40 mm) on colloidal chitin agar. The remainder did not produce or produced small clear zones (\u3c 40 mm) and were not included in subsequent studies. Of the 31 highly active chitinase-producing 31 isolates which produced high levels of chitinase, the most inhibitory 19 isolates (15 streptomycete and 4 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) were examined in vitro for their ability to suppress the growth of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, a soil-borne fungal plant pathogen causing wilt disease of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in the UAE. These 19 isolates gave a strong inhibition of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici on colloidal chitin agar. On highly selective Hussein\u27s fish-meal extract agar medium, used for the detection of antifungal metabolites, only 15 isolates (13 streptomycete and 2 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) out of the 19 tested isolates produced diffusible inhibitory compounds active against F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici and were chosen for further in vitro and in vivo studies. The growth of the pathogen was retarded by the diffused metabolites which were produced by the antagonistic actinomycetes. These 15 promising isolates which produced chitinase and antifungal metabolites active against F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici were screened also for their competence as root colonizers and for their abilities to colonize the roots and the rhizosphere of tomato in vitro and in planta. Eight isolates out of the 15 antagonistic isolates completely failed to colonize tomato roots in the root colonization plate assay in vitro 8 days after radicle emergence and subsequently were not included in further studies. The remaining seven isolates were further tested in soil (rhizosphere competence assay) to test their abilities to colonize roots in planta. Root-colonization abilities of the seven isolates tested showed that roots, and soil particles attached to roots of 21-day-old tomato seedlings were colonized to different degrees by these isolates. Population densities also showed that the isolates were found in the rhizosphere at all depths of the roots, but population densities were significantly (P\u3c0.05) greater in the first 6 cm of the root system compared to other root depths. Only four isolates (Streptomyces isolates # 8, 11, 42, and 59) which completely colonized the roots up to 14 cm depth in the rhizosphere competence assay were chosen for all further experiments described below. Colonization frequency of the root segments and the rhizosphere soil was greater in plants treated with Streptomyces isolate # 42 and Streptomyces isolate # 59 followed by Streptomyces isolate # 11 and then Streptomyces isolate # 8. Scanning electron microscopy studies of 8-days-old tomato roots colonized with the four Streptomyces isolates showed the presence of extensive mycelia and chains of spores around root and root hairs. The four most inhibitory Streptomyces isolates (Streptomyces roseodiastaticus isolate # 8), (Streptomyces erumpens isolate # 11), (Streptomyces aurantiacus isolate # 42), and (Streptomyces rameus isolate # 59) produced high levels of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in vitro. When the pathogen was presented as the sole carbon source, all four isolates caused extensive plasmolysis, and cell wall lysis of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici hyphae. The crude culture filtrate of the four antagonistic isolates exhibited antifungal activity and significantly reduced (P\u3c0.05) spore germination and germ-tube growth of the pathogen. The same crude enzyme preparations of the four antagonistic isolates also significantly inhibited (P\u3c0.05) the growth of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici when incorporated into Potato Dextrose agar (PDA). The most promising four isolates were further examined for their abilities to produce volatile antibiotics, siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines, and to solubilize insoluble rock phosphate. In addition to the abilities of the four Streptomyces isolates to produce chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, diffusible inhibitory antifungal metabolites, and to lyse the hyphae of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, they varied in their abilities to produce volatile antibiotics, siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines, and to solubilize insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces roseodiastaticus (isolate # 8) produced only polyamines. Streptomyces erumpens (isolate # 11), produced volatile antibiotics, indole-3-acetic acid, and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces aurantiacus (isolate # 42) produced indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces rameus (isolate # 59) produced volatile antibiotics, indole-3-acetic acid, and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. None of the four isolates produced siderophores. These most-promising antagonistic four isolates were subsequently tested in the greenhouse, individually or as a mixture, for their ability to suppress wilt disease of tomato in soil with or without seaweed amendment. The treatment which included all four isolates in soil amended with F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici and seaweed was significantly superior to all other treatments in suppressing wilt disease and was nearly as good as the fungicide treatment (Prochloraz application). The application of the four actinomycetes in the presence of the pathogen either singly or in combination in the absence of seaweed amendments, or in the presence of seaweed amendments, either singly or in combination also significantly (P\u3c0.05) promoted plant growth compared to the controls. In these treatments, there were a significant (P\u3c0.05) increases in the shoot and root lengths and in the dry weights of shoots and roots. The treatment which included all four actinomycetes applied in combination in the presence of seaweed amendments gave the best growth promotion effect in comparison with other treatments. Microbial activity in soils amended with seaweed extract, were found to be significantly (P \u3c 0.05) higher than in seaweed-non-amended soils, eight weeks after the addition of seaweed extract in the soil indicating the importance of soil amendments on natural microbial activity. A positive association was evident with their in vitro antagonism and disease reductions in each case. This study clearly showed the potential for the application of antagonistic rhizosphere-competent actinomycetes mixture in a seaweed amended soil, for the management of tomato disease caused by F. oxysporum f.sp.lycopersici in the UAE

Biological Control of Fusarium oxysporum Wilt Disease of Tomato by Antagonistic and Plant Growth Promoting Actinomycetes

Soil-borne fungal plant pathogens cause some of the most widespread and serious plant diseases. Root diseases caused by these pathogens such as wilt, root rot, collar rot, foot rot, seedling pre- and post-emergence damping-off are the foremost of problems which are gaining importance from day to day in the world and for which no direct control measures have been evolved so far. Fusarium spp. is a widespread soil-borne plant pathogen and is the causal agents of wilt disease of many economically important crops. Fusarium spp. is a limiting factor in the plant productivity in most agricultural soils. Wilt disease of tomato is a common problem in almost all field and greenhouse tomatoes. The disease is caused by different species of Fusarium and in the United Arab Emirates, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici is the common causal agent of the disease. The disease is an economic threats to commercial growers especially those who grow tomatoes under greenhouse humid conditions. At present, a combination of cultural practices and fungicide applications are used to control the diseases. The aim of the present thesis was to search for a modem dual plant protection and plant growth-promoting strategies by the application of beneficial rhizosphere-competent actinomycetes isolated from the UAE soils. In addition, improving the performance of the selected bio-control and plant-growth promoting actinomycetes isolates through the application of seaweed extract as a soil organic amendment was the target of the present thesis. To achieve this, eighty seven actinomycetes (65 streptomycete and 22 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) were isolated from tomato rhizosphere soil collected from a farm in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). All isolates were screened preliminary for their ability to produce cell-wall degrading enzymes (chitinase) using colloidal chitin agar. Of the 87 actinomycete isolates, only 31 isolates (25 streptomycete and 6 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) produced large clear zones (\u3e 40 mm) on colloidal chitin agar. The remainder did not produce or produced small clear zones (\u3c 40 mm) and were not included in subsequent studies. Of the 31 highly active chitinase-producing 31 isolates which produced high levels of chitinase, the most inhibitory 19 isolates (15 streptomycete and 4 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) were examined in vitro for their ability to suppress the growth of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, a soil-borne fungal plant pathogen causing wilt disease of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in the UAE. These 19 isolates gave a strong inhibition of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici on colloidal chitin agar. On highly selective Hussein\u27s fish-meal extract agar medium, used for the detection of antifungal metabolites, only 15 isolates (13 streptomycete and 2 non-streptomycete actinomycetes) out of the 19 tested isolates produced diffusible inhibitory compounds active against F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici and were chosen for further in vitro and in vivo studies. The growth of the pathogen was retarded by the diffused metabolites which were produced by the antagonistic actinomycetes. These 15 promising isolates which produced chitinase and antifungal metabolites active against F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici were screened also for their competence as root colonizers and for their abilities to colonize the roots and the rhizosphere of tomato in vitro and in planta. Eight isolates out of the 15 antagonistic isolates completely failed to colonize tomato roots in the root colonization plate assay in vitro 8 days after radicle emergence and subsequently were not included in further studies. The remaining seven isolates were further tested in soil (rhizosphere competence assay) to test their abilities to colonize roots in planta. Root-colonization abilities of the seven isolates tested showed that roots, and soil particles attached to roots of 21-day-old tomato seedlings were colonized to different degrees by these isolates. Population densities also showed that the isolates were found in the rhizosphere at all depths of the roots, but population densities were significantly (P\u3c0.05) greater in the first 6 cm of the root system compared to other root depths. Only four isolates (Streptomyces isolates # 8, 11, 42, and 59) which completely colonized the roots up to 14 cm depth in the rhizosphere competence assay were chosen for all further experiments described below. Colonization frequency of the root segments and the rhizosphere soil was greater in plants treated with Streptomyces isolate # 42 and Streptomyces isolate # 59 followed by Streptomyces isolate # 11 and then Streptomyces isolate # 8. Scanning electron microscopy studies of 8-days-old tomato roots colonized with the four Streptomyces isolates showed the presence of extensive mycelia and chains of spores around root and root hairs. The four most inhibitory Streptomyces isolates (Streptomyces roseodiastaticus isolate # 8), (Streptomyces erumpens isolate # 11), (Streptomyces aurantiacus isolate # 42), and (Streptomyces rameus isolate # 59) produced high levels of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in vitro. When the pathogen was presented as the sole carbon source, all four isolates caused extensive plasmolysis, and cell wall lysis of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici hyphae. The crude culture filtrate of the four antagonistic isolates exhibited antifungal activity and significantly reduced (P\u3c0.05) spore germination and germ-tube growth of the pathogen. The same crude enzyme preparations of the four antagonistic isolates also significantly inhibited (P\u3c0.05) the growth of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici when incorporated into Potato Dextrose agar (PDA). The most promising four isolates were further examined for their abilities to produce volatile antibiotics, siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines, and to solubilize insoluble rock phosphate. In addition to the abilities of the four Streptomyces isolates to produce chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, diffusible inhibitory antifungal metabolites, and to lyse the hyphae of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, they varied in their abilities to produce volatile antibiotics, siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines, and to solubilize insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces roseodiastaticus (isolate # 8) produced only polyamines. Streptomyces erumpens (isolate # 11), produced volatile antibiotics, indole-3-acetic acid, and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces aurantiacus (isolate # 42) produced indole-3-acetic acid, polyamines and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. Streptomyces rameus (isolate # 59) produced volatile antibiotics, indole-3-acetic acid, and solubilized insoluble rock phosphate. None of the four isolates produced siderophores. These most-promising antagonistic four isolates were subsequently tested in the greenhouse, individually or as a mixture, for their ability to suppress wilt disease of tomato in soil with or without seaweed amendment. The treatment which included all four isolates in soil amended with F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici and seaweed was significantly superior to all other treatments in suppressing wilt disease and was nearly as good as the fungicide treatment (Prochloraz application). The application of the four actinomycetes in the presence of the pathogen either singly or in combination in the absence of seaweed amendments, or in the presence of seaweed amendments, either singly or in combination also significantly (P\u3c0.05) promoted plant growth compared to the controls. In these treatments, there were a significant (P\u3c0.05) increases in the shoot and root lengths and in the dry weights of shoots and roots. The treatment which included all four actinomycetes applied in combination in the presence of seaweed amendments gave the best growth promotion effect in comparison with other treatments. Microbial activity in soils amended with seaweed extract, were found to be significantly (P \u3c 0.05) higher than in seaweed-non-amended soils, eight weeks after the addition of seaweed extract in the soil indicating the importance of soil amendments on natural microbial activity. A positive association was evident with their in vitro antagonism and disease reductions in each case. This study clearly showed the potential for the application of antagonistic rhizosphere-competent actinomycetes mixture in a seaweed amended soil, for the management of tomato disease caused by F. oxysporum f.sp.lycopersici in the UAE

PENGARUH LINGKUNGAN BELAJAR DAN KEMANDIRIAN BELAJAR TERHADAP HASIL BELAJAR KIMIA SISWA KELAS XI IPA SMA NEGERI 1 KIKIM SELATAN

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui (1) pengaruh lingkungan belajar terhadap hasil belajar kimia kelas XI IPA di SMA Negeri 1 Kikim Selatan (2) Pengaruh kemandirian belajar terhadap hasil belajar kimia kelas XI IPA di SMA Negeri 1 Kikim Selatan (3) Pengaruh lingkungan belajar dan kemandirian belajar secara bersama-sama terhadap hasil belajar kimia siswa kelas XI IPA di SMA Negeri 1 Kikim Selatan. Penelitian dilakukan di SMA Negeri 1 Kikim Selatan, dengan populasi berjumlah 93 siswa dan diambil 62 siswa sebagai sampel. Jenis penelitian adalah penelitian expost-facto dengan teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan metode angket dan dokumentasi. Uji prasyarat analisis data meliputi uji normalitas, uji linearitas, dan uji multikolinearitas. Untuk uji hipotesis pertama dan kedua, digunakan teknik analisis regresi sederhana, sedangkan uji hipotesis ketiga digunakan teknik analisis regresi ganda dengan taraf signifikan 5%.Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, diperoleh kesimpulan: (1) terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan Lingkungan Belajar terhadap Hasil Belajar Kimia, dengan harga koefisien korelasi (rx1y) sebesar 0,952 dan harga thitung 24,083 lebih besar dari ttabel 2,0003 (24,083 > 2,0003) (2) terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan Kemandirian Belajar terhadap Hasil Belajar Kimia, dengan harga koefisien korelasi (rx2y) sebesar 0,918 dan harga thitung 17,958 lebih besar dari ttabel 2,0003 (17,958 > 2,0003) (3) terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan Lingkungan Belajar dan Kemandirian Belajar secara bersama-sama terhadap Hasil Belajar, dengan harga koefisien korelasi (Ry(1,2)) sebesar 0,974 koefisien determinasi (R2y(1,2)) sebesar 0,949, dengan Sumbangan Efektif sebesar 94,9% terhadap pencapaian Hasil Belajar Kimia, sedangkan 5,1% dijelaskan oleh faktor lain yang tidak diteliti dalam penelitian ini.Kata Kunci : Lingkungan Belajar, Kemandirian Belajar, Hasil Belajar Kimi

Slice Admission control based on Reinforcement Learning for 5G Networks

Network slicing empowers service providers to deploy diverse network slice architectures within a shared physical infrastructure. This technology enables the provision of differentiated services that cater for specific Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of different use cases which need to be adequately supported in 5G networks. By leveraging Network Slicing, operators can effectively meet these diverse requirements and provide customized services to different tenants in a flexible and efficient manner. However, infrastructure providers face a challenging dilemma of the slice admission control regarding whether to accept or reject slice requests. From one perspective, they strive to optimize the utilization of network resources through accepting a significant number of network slices. From another perspective, the availability of network resources is restricted, and it is crucial to fulfil the QoS requirements specified by the network slices. In this research, an Admission Control (AC) Algorithm founded upon Reinforcement Learning mechanisms, specifically Q-Learning (QL), Double Q-Learning (Double-QL), and a proposed mechanism based on Double QL is obtained to overcome this challenge. This algorithm is applied in order to make informed decisions regarding network slice requests. The simulation results demonstrate that the AC algorithm, leveraging the suggested mechanism, surpasses the Double-QL and QL mechanisms in relation to gained profit with average of 8% and 26%, respectively. In case of the acceptance ratio of slice requests, it achieves average of 13% and 28% higher than Double-QL and QL mechanisms, respectively. Finally, it obtains the maximum resource utilization, surpassing Double-QL and QL by 9% and 20%, respectively

Slice Admission control based on Reinforcement Learning for 5G Networks

Network slicing empowers service providers to deploy diverse network slice architectures within a shared physical infrastructure. This technology enables the provision of differentiated services that cater for specific Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of different use cases which need to be adequately supported in 5G networks. By leveraging Network Slicing, operators can effectively meet these diverse requirements and provide customized services to different tenants in a flexible and efficient manner. However, infrastructure providers face a challenging dilemma of the slice admission control regarding whether to accept or reject slice requests. From one perspective, they strive to optimize the utilization of network resources through accepting a significant number of network slices. From another perspective, the availability of network resources is restricted, and it is crucial to fulfil the QoS requirements specified by the network slices. In this research, an Admission Control (AC) Algorithm founded upon Reinforcement Learning mechanisms, specifically Q-Learning (QL), Double Q-Learning (Double-QL), and a proposed mechanism based on Double QL is obtained to overcome this challenge. This algorithm is applied in order to make informed decisions regarding network slice requests. The simulation results demonstrate that the AC algorithm, leveraging the suggested mechanism, surpasses the Double-QL and QL mechanisms in relation to gained profit with average of 8% and 26%, respectively. In case of the acceptance ratio of slice requests, it achieves average of 13% and 28% higher than Double-QL and QL mechanisms, respectively. Finally, it obtains the maximum resource utilization, surpassing Double-QL and QL by 9% and 20%, respectively

Study the correlation between hormonal receptors in Iraqi patient women with Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer is one of common types of cancer in the world and is considered one of the causes of death among Iraqi women . The discovery of the hormone receptors (estrogen and progesterone) a significant impact in the selection of patients for treatment and expected to live after period and to the possibility of recurrence treatment again is because the relationship between tumor grade and the percentage of representation of hormone receptors on the surface cells . The research based on measuring the proportion of ER and PR in tissue and blood serum and note relationship between the level of receptors and the clinical situation in Iraqi women with breast cancer . The study has been started from May 2014 to December 2014 in the Educational Tumor Hospital were selected infected women in the age group (28-68) years as measured by the proportion of their ER and PR in tissue and serum .The results showed that the proportion of women  with a family history of patients is 62.5% and that the patients whose ratio to have a tumor of the second degree is 76.7% and the third degree was 13.3% and that the first degree ratio is 10% and that there is no significant difference in the measurement of the percentage ER and PR in ELISA technique and Immunohistochemistry . Sensitivity and Specifity of Immunohistochemistry study is better than ELISA technique because the value of IHC sensitivity and specifity for  ER and PR are 70%(1.0)ng/ml and 69%(1.0)ng/ml respectively while in ELISA technique are 38%(0.9)ng/ml and 20%(0.95)ng/ml respectively . Keywords: Breast Cancer, Estrogen receptors , Progesterone receptors