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Can patterns of household purchases predict the outcome of US presidential elections?
No full textWe use NielsenIQ US retail scanner data to show that changes in sales patterns can be used to predict US presidential election results at the county level. Using a probit model, we regress 2016 election results against sales of various products six months prior to the election. We employ the results and the sales data for 2020 to forecast presidential election results in the same year. Comparison to actual election outcomes shows that our work correctly predicts election results in 86.47% of cases across 2, 602 US counties. We further study how changes in the consumption of certain goods influences voter turnout as well as Democrat and Republican votes
Alpinia katsumadai seed from a condiment to ethnomedicine to nutraceutical, a comprehensive review of its chemistry and health benefits
No full textFrom a traditionally used spice to a highly valued therapeutic plant with many biological effects, Alpinia katsumadai Hayata seed (AKS) is widely used as a functional food or nutraceutical. In folk medicine, AKS has been used as an anti-emetic and for gastric disorders. Up to 2024, no comprehensive review summarizing the mode of action of AKS phytoconstituents although large number of studies. This review focuses on food applications, extraction and isolation methods, as well as chemical characterization of AKS phytoconstituents. The ethnopharmacological uses and pharmacological activities of AKS extracts and their isolates were discussed which may maximize AKS use in nutraceuticals. Data were collected using Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and bibliographic databases of previously published articles. Phytochemical studies have reported more than 153 phytoconstituents belonging to diarylheptanoids and terpenoids in addition to kavalactones, flavonoids, and phenylbutanoids. Bioassays revealed that AKS extracts and their isolates exhibit a wide range of bioactivities such as anti-emetic, antidiabetic, antiviral, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and digestive system protective effects. This review can provide a reference for further research on AKS for inclusion in nutraceuticals. In addition, new formulations should be explored to improve constituents’ bioavailability and biological effects, alongside elucidation of the underlying action mechanisms
Zr-MOF composites with zipped and unzipped carbon nanotubes for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors
No full textMetal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained considerable interest as crystalline porous materials with notable characteristics, such as high surface area and excellent electrochemical performance, particularly in supercapacitor applications. The combination of MOFs with various nanocarbon materials further enhances their performance. This study investigated the combination of zirconium-based MOFs (Zr-MOFs) with graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs), zipped carbon nanotubes, and functionalized carbon nanotubes (FCNTs) to fabricate composites with elevated electrical conductivity, adjustable surface area, chemical robustness, mechanical strength, and customizable attributes for specific applications. Zr-MOFs exhibit remarkable capacitance, making them promising electrode materials for supercapacitors. GONRs and FCNTs have recently emerged as focal materials owing to their unique properties, which make them promising materials for electrochemical energy storage devices. A thorough investigation of the supercapacitive behavior of GONRs, FCNTs, Zr-MOFs, Zr-MOFs/FCNTs, and Zr-MOFs/GONRs in 1 M H2SO4 using different evaluation systems (three- and two-electrode systems) revealed a significant enhancement in the capacitance of Zr-MOFs after the introduction of GONRs and FCNTs. Employing Zr-MOF/GONR and Zr-MOF/FCNT composites as positive electrodes and GONRs as negative electrodes in two-electrode measurements demonstrated remarkable cycling stability by retaining their specific capacitances (Cs) even after 10 000 consecutive charge/discharge cycles at a high current density of 10 A g−1. Moreover, they feature a broad potential window of 1.7 V in the three-electrode system. This extends to 2 V in the two-electrode system, achieving high Cs. This highlights the remarkable electrochemical performance of the Zr-MOF/GONR and Zr-MOF/FCNT composites, offering a compelling approach for energy storage applications
Antibacterial and Anticancer Activities of a Fosmid Clone from Atlantis II Red Sea Brine Pool.
Get PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) and cancer are among the top global human health issues requiring urgent control practices. AMR caused 5 million death cases around the world in 2019. This number is expected to reach 10 million deaths by 2050. Cancer deaths reached 10 million in 2020. Additionally, anticancer drug resistance is a common cause of death among cancer patients. Screening for novel compounds is one of the strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to control drug resistance in microbial and cancer cells. Marine natural products (MNPs) are characterized by chemically diverse structures with various bioactivities, especially in extreme marine environments. Also, microbes inhabiting extreme marine environments have explicit unique mechanisms of adaptation to living in harsh conditions, having the potential for antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer activities. Red Sea brine pools are poly- extreme environments characterized by various challenging conditions. Such unique environments are worthy of exploring to identify novel bioactive compounds. A fosmid library of environmental DNA from Atlantis II deep Lower Connective Layer (LCL) was constructed and functionally screened for antibacterial activity. 91-4H, a fosmid clone that has shown antibacterial activity, was further screened to identify the antibacterial spectrum and cytotoxicity. By the overlay assay, the clone showed a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity through a zone of inhibition against various Gram-negative and positive bacterial strains, including multi-drug resistant clinical isolates and a Mycobacterium strain. Additionally, antimycobacterial activity was molecularly measured. Moreover, the selective cytotoxic activity against cancer cells was measured by testing different concentrations of the whole cell lysate. Furthermore, the metagenomic DNA was sequenced to identify genes responsible for the experimentally tested antibacterial activity
Segmental Error Gravity in L2 Arabic Speech Comprehensibility and Accentedness: L1 Consonant Age of Acquisition as a Predictor
Get PDFSecond language (L2) pronunciation studies have found that the intelligibility (i.e., listeners’ actual understanding) of L2 speech is most closely related to its comprehensibility (i.e., listeners\u27 ease of understanding) rather than to its overall nativelike pronunciation. The segmental errors that are most detrimental to communication are predicted by phoneme Functional Load (FL): mispronouncing high FL segments affects speech comprehensibility more negatively than mispronouncing low FL ones. However, no data are available on the FL hierarchy of Arabic segments. On the other hand, FL correlates highly with consonant age of acquisition (CAoA) in languages that rely heavily on consonants to contrast meaning, and whose listeners rely on consonants to process speech. In these languages, the higher the FL of consonants, the earlier they are acquired by children. Arabic phonology and psycholinguistic data suggest a strong consonant bias, possibly meaning that CAoA could be used in place of FL to predict consonantal error gravity, with early-acquisition consonants representing high FL and late-acquisition ones representing low FL. To test this hypothesis, a speech perception study was conducted. Twentyone native speakers of Egyptian Arabic listened to 23 words read aloud by ten L2 learners of Arabic containing either an early-acquisition consonant error, a late-acquisition consonant error, or no error, and rated them on comprehensibility and foreign-accentedness. Results suggest that early-acquisition consonant errors are more detrimental to comprehensibility and are perceived as more foreign-accented. In addition, a moderate-to-strong correlation was revealed between comprehensibility and foreign-accentedness. The findings provide the first empirical evidence that could be used to set instructional priorities in Arabic L2 pronunciation pedagogy
Student perceptions of ICC development and the reasons for it during CASA@AUC
Get PDFResearch has described how studying abroad has become a major goal in the Arabic world, focusing on understanding the ideas and way of life of another culture and people. Study abroad programs increase students\u27 “Intercultural communicative competence” as indicated by researchers like Maharaja (2018) and Lee and Song (2019). The current study is a case study involving three participants. It focuses on students\u27 perceptions of the influence of the CASA@AUC study abroad program on their intercultural communicative competence (ICC) as reflected by ACTFL performance indicators they are capable of executing. Results of the study indicate that they have reached advanced ICC levels, they also indicate that students attribute their ICC capabilities to the classes and cultural experiences they were exposed to as part of the CASA@AUC program. In addition, results reveal that interaction with members of the host culture is perceived by study participants as having a clear influence on their ICC capabilities. This study also highlights the influence of possible barriers to intercultural communicative competence, namely an excessive workload during study abroad
Reforming Egypt’s Alternative Child Care System Through Deinstitutionalization: An Assessment of the Current Status and Readiness to Change in the Residential Care Sector
Get PDFThe main objective of this study was to assess the current status and readiness of the sector of residential care institutions for children to take part in the deinstitutionalization of children in alternative care in Egypt. The assessment was carried out using an adapted version of the Community Readiness Model (CRM), a tool developed by the Tri-Ethnic Center at Colorado State University. Accordingly, the assessment comprised semi-structured interviews with fourteen key informants to assess the following six readiness dimensions: efforts, knowledge of the efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge of the issue, and resources related to the issue. The study briefly examined in tandem the potential role of residential care institutions in deinstitutionalization. The data analysis was done using the scoring process prescribed in the model to measure readiness. In addition, a qualitative framework analysis was conducted to support the CRM scores. The findings mainly demonstrated that at the policy level, the government and some civil society partners, including a few from the residential child care sector, have been invested in deinstitutionalization and have continued to take action toward it since 2014; however, more efforts targeted at existing institutions are required to ensure a smooth transition. It was revealed that resistance is prevalent among these institutions as most are not adequately engaged, feel threatened, and lack understanding about deinstitutionalization’s true significance and scope. Based on the findings, practical insights for engaging and transforming residential child care and avenues for future research were discussed
Efficient Perovskite Multi-Junction Cell with Twin-Layered Absorber
No full textUtilizing multi-junction solar cells is one of the recent approaches to meet the energy demand. Due to the unique set of perovskite optical and electrical behavior, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are progressively attracting the researchers\u27 attention. This paper proposes a multi-junction cell with CIGS-GeTe as the bottom cell\u27s twin-layered absorbers, while the top cell is comprised of a conventional PSC. The simulation results reveal that this promising tandem perovskite/CIGS-GeTe structure shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 35.86%, with a high open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 2.01 V
A Comparative DFT Investigation of the Adsorption of Temozolomide Anticancer Drug over Beryllium Oxide and Boron Nitride Nanocarriers
No full textHerein, attempts were made to explore the adsorption prospective of beryllium oxide (Be12O12) and boron nitride (B12N12) nanocarriers toward the temozolomide (TMZ) anticancer drug. A systematic investigation of the TMZ adsorption over nanocarriers was performed by using quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT). The favorability of Be12O12 and B12N12 nanocarriers toward loading TMZ was investigated through A↔D configurations. Substantial energetic features of the proposed configurations were confirmed by negative adsorption (Eads) energy values of up to −30.47 and −26.94 kcal/mol for TMZ•••Be12O12 and •••B12N12 complexes within configuration A, respectively. As per SAPT results, the dominant contribution beyond the studied adsorptions was found for the electrostatic forces (Eelst = −100.21 and −63.60 kcal/mol for TMZ•••B12N12 and •••Be12O12 complexes within configuration A, respectively). As a result of TMZ adsorption, changes in the energy of molecular orbitals followed by alterations in global reactivity descriptors were observed. Various intermolecular interactions within the studied complexes were assessed by QTAIM analysis. Notably, a favorable adsorption process was also observed under the effect of water with adsorption energy (Formula Presented reaching −28.05 and −22.26 kcal/mol for TMZ•••B12N12 and •••Be12O12 complexes within configuration A, respectively. The drug adsorption efficiency of the studied nanocarriers was further examined by analyzing the IR and Raman spectra. From a sustained drug delivery point of view, the release pattern of TMZ from the nanocarrier surface was investigated by recovery time calculations. Additionally, the significant role of doping by heavy atoms (i.e., MgBe11O12 and AlB11N12) on the favorability of TMZ adsorption was investigated and compared to pure analogs (i.e., Be12O12 and B12N12). The obtained data from thermodynamic calculations highlighted that the adsorption process over pure and doped nanocarriers was spontaneous and exothermic. The emerging findings provide a theoretical base for future works related to nanocarrier applications in the drug delivery process, especially for the TMZ anticancer drug
How does olive seed chemistry, health benefits and action mechanisms compare to its fruit oil? A comprehensive review for valorization purposes and maximizing its health benefits
No full textOlive (Olea europaea) has economical value in the Mediterranean region being used for the production of olive oil which represents a significant economic asset. The vision for olive oil byproducts is being dramatically changed from industrial waste products and sources of pollution to significantly important byproducts considering their beneficial effects and potential applications. Olive seed is a major byproduct of the olive oil industry that has gained increasing attention for its health benefits and rich phytochemical composition. Seed presents a potential source of components including dietary fiber (45%), lipids (35%), and proteins (15%). With regards to secondary metabolites in olive seed, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol are the main phenolics. Among olive seed health benefits, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities are the most prominent. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies revealed seeds’ potential cytotoxic effects, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, liver and kidney protective effects. This comprehensive review summarizes the reported health benefits of olive seeds including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihyperlipidemic, antitumor, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activities, underlying action mechanisms, and in context to its phytochemical composition. Results are presented from different cultivars and origins for the first time in literature and in comparison, with the well-reported health benefits of olive oil or its pomace. Further, attempts to improve olive seed functionalization and industrial applications is presented for the first time