681 research outputs found
The Political Thought of the Late H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the United Arab Emirates (1966 - 2004)
No full textThis thesis highlights the political thought of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a man who made decisive contributions to the history of the twentieth century, and the various reflections of this political thought on the UAE, its people and the international community at large. In this regard, it explores and analyzes a multifaceted political thought that took its form in political practice in the establishment of the Federation, the management of crises and in the building of a prosperous enduring nation. Evaluating the factors that influenced the formation of the doctrinal matrix of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, this thesis traces the background from within which Sheikh Zayed’s leadership skills evolved and developed. From his early years onwards, Sheikh Zayed made a firm commitment to undertake the considerable task of building a fully fledged state out of a divided tribal background, improve the lives of citizens, and carve a place for the UAE in the international arena.
This research project illustrates the implications and dimensions of Sheikh Zayed's political thinking process exemplified in his discursive statements and actions. It documents and analyzes the career achievements of Sheikh Zayed, a statesman acknowledged by contemporary and future generations to have had significant impact on the political direction and overall development of the UAE. This impact also demonstrates the potential of his contribution to the field of political thought.
One of this study’s primary conclusions is that the accomplishments of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan during his rule have resulted primarily from his development of an integrated doctrine of governance that reflected his humanistic outlook. In this regard, at both the domestic and international levels, Sheikh Zayed’s political decisions and acts were undertaken with reference to this outlook
Impaired activity of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase of heart mitochondria in chronic renal failure: Role of secondary hyperparathyroidism
No full textChronic renal failure (CRF) is associated with impaired oxidation of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) by heart mitochondria, and previous data indicated that this derangement is due to the state of secondary hyperparathyroidism of CRF. A reduction in the utilization of α-KG by heart mitochondria implies that the activity of mitochondrial α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (α-KGDH) is impaired; however, direct evidence for such an abnormality is not available. We examined the V(max) and the K(m) of α-KGHD of heart mitochondria obtained from normal rats, CRF animals and normocalcemic parathyroidectomized (PTX) CRF rats. Our data showed that CRF has no effect on the K(m) of α-KGDH for α-KG. However, V(max) of the enzyme was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced and this abnormality was prevented by PTX of CRF rats. Our results provide the evidence that the impaired utilization of α-KG by myocardial mitochondria of CRF rats is due to reduced V(max) of α-KGDH and that both derangements are mediated by excess PTH or a metabolic consequence of the secondary hyperparathyroidism of CRF
Identification and evaluation of bioflocculant from Bacillus salmalaya 139SI for its application in wastewater treatment / Zayed M. M. Abu Tawila
No full textBioflocculants are flocculating compounds produced by microorganisms during their growth and has recently received extensive consideration from researchers due to their biodegradable, non-toxicity and lack of secondary pollution from degradation intermediates characteristics. The production, optimization, and Characterisation of bioflocculant QZ-7 produced by a novel Bacillus salmalaya strain 139SI which was isolated from a private farm soil in Selangor, Malaysia, were determined. Meanwhile, the optimal culture condition for bioflocculant production was achieved after cultivation at 35.5 °C for 72 h at pH 7, with an inoculum size of 5% (v/v) and sucrose, glucose as carbon source and yeast extract, urea as nitrogen sources. A bioflocculant yield of 2.72 g was recovered from 1 L of broth culture, with maximum flocculating activity that was found to be 92.6%. Chemical analysis revealed that the pure bioflocculant QZ-7 consisted of 79.08% carbohydrates and 15.68% proteins. Infrared spectrometry analysis showed the presence of carboxyl (COO-), hydroxyl (-OH), and amino (-NH3) groups, which are typically from polysaccharides and proteins. The NMR spectroscopy analysis confirmed the result of FTIR, through the presence of functional groups of the QZ-7. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that QZ-7 exhibited a clear crystalline brick-shaped structure. The average molecular weight of the bioflocculant QZ-7 was calculated to be 5.13×105Da. LC-MS analysis confirmed that QZ-7 was a glycoprotein compound detected at 741m/z–745m/z. Moreover, the presence of glucose at 182.96 m/z, rhamnose at 354.3m/z, and glucuronic acid at 212.8 m/z. SEM- EDX analysis indicated the existence of C, O, N, P and S in this macromolecule as 55.74%, 42.74%, 0.54%, 0.93% iv
and 0.06%, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the bioflocculant QZ-7 contained thermos-stable and thermo-labile molecules. Bioflocculant QZ-7 exhibited wide pH stability that ranged from 4 to 7, with a flocculation activity of more than 70%. In addition, QZ-7 was thermally stable and retained more than 80% of its flocculating efficiency after being heated at 60 °C for 30 min. The highest bioflocculating activity of 93.6% was obtained for Ca+2 at 2 mg/L of QZ-7 concentration at pH 7. The treatment of river water by purified bioflocculant QZ-7 showed high performance in the removal of turbidity, total suspended solids and COD. After treating the wastewater, the bioflocculant QZ-7 showed significant flocculating performance with a COD removal efficiency of 93%, whereas a BOD removal efficiency of 92.4% was observed in the B. salmalaya strain 139SI. In addition, results for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater revealed that the bioflocculant QZ-7 was capable of removing the heavy metals. For example, the maximum adsorption of As (89.8 %), and Zn+2 (77.4 %), and Cu+2 (58.4%). Moreover, the bioflocculant QZ-7 had significant removal efficiency of different pharmaceutical compounds, such as Simvastatin (92.45%), Salbutamol (88.69%), Acetaminophen (69%), and Caffeine (66.52%). Furthermore, B. salmalaya 139SI strain and pure bioflocculant QZ-7 could synthesise AgNPs. Also, an antibacterial activity of the AgNPs was detected against test bacterial strains, such as Escherichia coli ATCC35401, Salmonella enteritidis ATCCBAA-711, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC2592 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as application of AgNPs
Pimpinella anisum essential oil nanoemulsions against Tribolium castaneum - Insecticidal activity and mode of action
No full textThe red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is an economically important pest of stored products. As possible alternative to conventional insecticides for its management, plant essential oils have gained interest owing to their effectiveness and eco-friendly features. However, they also show some drawbacks such as low stability, poor water solubility and diffusion, and limited persistence in the environment. A good strategy to overcome these disadvantages is represented by green nanotechnologies. Herein, we developed a nanoemulsion based on the essential oil from Pimpinella anisum L. (Apiaceae) containing 81.2% of (E)-anethole and evaluated its toxicity on T. castaneum adults and F1 progeny, as well as its morphological and histological impact. The anise oil nanoemulsion was characterized by the formation of a semi-solid interphase between oil and water, mean drop size was 198.9 nm, PDI was 0.303, zeta potential was -25.4±4.47 mV and conductivity was 0.029 mS/cm. The nanoemulsion showed toxicity on T. castaneum (LC50=9.3% v/v), with a significant impact on its progeny. Histological damages triggered by feeding and exposure to the anise nanoemulsion were also analyzed by scan electron microscopy (SEM). Overall, our findings showed that the development of nanoemulsions allows to improve the stability of P. anisum essential oil enhancing its efficacy against stored grain pests and contributing to reduce the use of harmful synthetic insecticides
Observations on the basic (G′/G)-expansion method for finding solutions to nonlinear evolution equations
No full textThe extended tanh-function expansion method for finding solutions to nonlinear evolution equations delivers solutions in a straightforward manner and in a neat and helpful form. On the other hand, the more recent but less efficient (G′/G)-expansion method delivers solutions in a rather cumbersome form. It is shown that these solutions are merely disguised forms of the solutions given by the earlier method so that the two methods are entirely equivalent. An unfortunate consequence of this observation is that, in many papers in which the (G′/G)-expansion method has been used, claims that 'new' solutions have been derived are often erroneous; the so-called 'new' solutions are merely disguised versions of previously known solutions
Multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis TCMeta 1.0
No full textTCMeta is a dataset of noun phrase constructions from COVID-related tweets, annotated for relation-level metaphor.
It contains 2,138 Slovene and 2,221 English instances in tab-separated tabular format .tsv, where each line presents a unique phrase under consideration, extracted from a COVID-related tweet. The primary annotations include the COVID metaphor label (whether the phrase expresses a metaphor relating to COVID), but also additional ones for idioms, metaphors not relating to COVID, or metaphors not evident on the relation-level.
The complete user tweet could not be published due to the ToS of the then Twitter platform. We recommend retrieving the text of the tweets via their IDs using the Hydrator tool [https://github.com/docnow/hydrator] or similar.
The dataset is further described in:
Brglez, M., Zayed, O. & Buitelaar, P. TCMeta: a multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis. Lang Resources & Evaluation 59, 437–475 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z.
@article{brglez2025tcmeta,
title={{TCMeta}: a multilingual dataset of {COVID} tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis},
author={Brglez, Mojca and Zayed, Omnia and Buitelaar, Paul},
journal={Language Resources and Evaluation},
pages={437--475},
volume={59},
year={2025},
publisher={Springer},
doi = {10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z}
Applications of a Generalized Extended (G'/G) -Expansion Method to Find Exact Solutions of Two Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations with Variable Coefficients
No full textIn the present paper, we construct the travelling wave solutions of two nonlinear Schrödinger equations with variable coefficients by using a generalized extended (G'/G) -expansion method, where G = G(ξ) satisfies a second order linear ordinary differential equation. By using this method, new exact solutions involving parameters, expressed by hyperbolic and trigonometric function solutions are obtained. When the parameters are taken as special values, some solitary wave solutions are derived from the hyperbolic function solutions
Cooperation without consensus: national discussions and local implementation in general education reform, 1930–1960
No full textThis study explores the general education movement of 1930-1960—a movement devoted to revising the content, and methods, of reforming the first two years of postsecondary study for undergraduates. It begins by noting that much of the extant literature focuses on the curricular statements produced by Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago as well as their assumed influence upon other institutions of higher learning—including historically black colleges and universities, women’s colleges, religiously affiliated colleges, land grants, and community colleges—during this time period. This study complicates this reading of the movement by arguing that the curricular statements of Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago were unable to achieve curricular reform on their respective campuses and were deemed to be unacceptable by institutions across the nation. The study asks, then, if the curricular theories of these prestigious universities were unable to create and/or sustain a fixed body of curricular content on their own campuses, is it likely that they influenced the curriculums of other institutions across the country? And more important, if the curricular structures in place at these institutions were constantly evolving—driven by faculty and student concerns, local context, the politics of curricular compromise, and not representing a linear, top-down method of reform—what method of reform did these universities and other institutions of higher learning look to, for achieving tangible and sustainable mechanisms of reform?
This study then offers a new way of seeing curricular reform in the general education movement by relying on the lenses provided by an exploration of three cooperative studies of general education—or studies funded by philanthropic groups in which a number of institutions and their representatives cooperate with each other and educational researchers to spur reform of their own curricular measures. The three cooperative studies of general education focused on are the Eight-Year Study (1930-1942); the Cooperative Study in General Education (1938-1947), and the California Study of General Education in the Junior College (1948-1952).
Using insights from an extensive exploration of the cooperative studies, this study argues that reform in the general education movement operated in a “matrix of influence” that involved educational research, philanthropy, and (both inter- and intra-) institutional “cooperation without consensus,” rather than a top-down channeling of reform from prestigious institutions. Further, this led to a cyclical and iterative interplay between national discussions and local implementation that changed both the content of general education and the methods of its constant reform. These processes shaped the way people talked about, implemented, and executed general education measures on their campuses. Through these processes, words became ideas, and ideas eventually became curricular structures implemented at the most basic levels. These reforms were almost always sensitive to local context and were often advertised to the public as being politically, economically, socially, and culturally expedient and relevant.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2018-12-01The student, Kevin Zayed, accepted the attached license on 2016-11-29 at 11:18.The student, Kevin Zayed, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-11-29 at 11:24.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-11-30 at 13:30.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #10348 on 2017-02-28 at 14:42:27Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-01T17:01:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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Breathable Cities: Dynamic Machine Learning Modelling Approaches for Advanced Air Pollution Control
No full textData Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, M.A., upon reasonable request.first_pageDownload PDFsettingsOrder Article Reprints
Open AccessArticle
Breathable Cities: Dynamic Machine Learning Modelling Approaches for Advanced Air Pollution Control
by Roba Zayed andMaysam Abbod *ORCID
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Brunel University London, London UB8 3PH, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5581; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135581
Submission received: 20 May 2024 / Revised: 19 June 2024 / Accepted: 24 June 2024 / Published: 27 June 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality Prediction Based on Machine Learning Algorithms II)
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Abstract
This paper discusses air quality index (AQI) representation using a fuzzy logic framework to cover the blurry areas of AQI where indices are in between ranges of values. After studying several standards for air quality prediction (AQP), this research suggested the use of fuzzy logic as an extended method to cover some limitations found in several standards, in which the fuzzy logic represents a more dynamic way to support cross-country comparisons as well. This research expanded upon the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards to address their acknowledged limitations by constructing a fuzzy air quality levels prediction (FAQLP) model, which categorizes air quality into corresponding ranges (actual levels) and classifies new fuzzy levels (predicted levels), using a fuzzy logic model (to enforce more realistic predictions). This model can solve the issue of values at or near boundaries when there is uncertainty about air quality levels. The study aims to incorporate a comparative study of two urban settings providing dynamic machine-learning modeling approaches for advanced air pollution control. The DNN–Markov model is presented in this paper as the selected hybrid model for AQI prediction, and the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was used to represent AQI. This work presents a novel air quality index framework that consists of a DNN–Markov model for accurate hourly predictions and air quality level representations using ANFIS.This research received no external funding. The APC was funded by Brunel University London
Liver lipids of Indian and Atlantic Ocean spinner Carcharhinus brevipinna and blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus sharks
No full textShark liver oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially the n3 moieties. Data on the liver fatty acids of sharks from African waters, however, are limited. Liver samples from sharks from the western Indian Ocean off the east coast of South Africa and those from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico were examined. This study reports on the fatty acids found in the total lipid fractions from the livers of two shark species found in these regions, the spinner Carcharhinus brevipinna and blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus. Greater amounts of total lipids were found in sharks from the Indian Ocean than in those from the Atlantic Ocean (spinner 0.431 g g–1 vs 0.324 g g–1, p = 0.004; blacktip 0.426 g g–1 vs 0.261 g g–1, p = 0.004). The individual fatty acids in the same animals showed reduced amounts of saturates (spinner 26.22% vs 30.68%, p = 0.013; blacktip 28.94% vs 35.14%, p = 0.007) and slightly increased n3 polyunsaturates (spinner 33.67% vs 22.89%, p = 0.001; blacktip 24.77% vs 18.68%, p = 0.025). Generally, the geographical location rather than the shark species was most important in determining the proportions of hepatic lipids.Keywords: blacktip shark, liver fatty acids, liver lipid, spinner sharkAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2011, 33(1): 115–11
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