Fourteen morphologically varied Ricinus communis L. seeds were collected from different localities in Egypt, El-Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Seed morphology and ITS barcoding analysis were performed to assess their diversity and phylogenetic relationship. Sequence’s alignment of nrITS region from different accessions display high levels of genetic similarities. Cluster analysis could not group different accessions according to their geographical distribution. Nevertheless, the genetic barcodes are interestingly matched with the morphological features of the Ricinus seeds. In conclusion, seed morphology proved to be a valuable tool in evaluating biodiversity and phylogenetic relationship in plant species with different loca

Three cohesionless free flowing materials of different density were mixed in an air fluidized bed to study the mixing process by calculating performance of mixing index according to Rose equation (1959) and to study the effect of four variables (air velocity, mixing time, particle size of trace component and concentration of trace component) on the mixing index and as well as on mixing performance. It was found that mixing index increases with increasing the air velocity, mixing time and concentration of trace component until the optimum value. Mixing index depends on the magnitude of difference in particle size The first set of experiments (salt then sand then cast iron) give higher mixing index and better performance of mixing than the

In this study water quality index (WQI) was calculated to classify the flowing water in the Tigris River in Baghdad city. GIS was used to develop colored water quality maps indicating the classification of the river for drinking water purposes. Water quality parameters including: Turbidity, pH, Alkalinity, Total hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Chloride, Sulfate, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia, Orthophosphate and Total dissolved solids were used for WQI determination. These parameters were recorded at the intakes of the WTPs in Baghdad for the period 2004 to 2011. The results from the annual average WQI analysis classified the Tigris River very poor to polluted at the north of Baghdad (Alkarkh WTP) while it was very poor to very polluted in t

Improving students’ use of argumentation is front and center in the increasing emphasis on scientific practice in K-12 Science and STEM programs. We explore the construct validity of scenario-based assessments of claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) and the structure of the CER construct with respect to a learning progression framework. We also seek to understand how middle school students progress. Establishing the purpose of an argument is a competency that a majority of middle school students meet, whereas quantitative reasoning is the most difficult, and the Rasch model indicates that the competencies form a unidimensional hierarchy of skills. We also find no evidence of differential item functioning between different scenarios, suggesting

The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic amoxicillin removal from syn­thetic pharmaceutical wastewater. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was used in photocatalysis treatment method under natural solar irradiation in a tubular reactor. The photocatalytic removal efficiency was evaluated by the reduction in amoxicillin concentration. The effects of antibiotics concentration, TiO₂ dose, irradiation time and the effect of pH were studied. The optimum conditions were found to be irradiation time 5 hr, catalyst dosage 0.6 g/L, flow rate 1 L/min and pH 5. The photocatalytic treatment was able to destruct the amoxicillin in 5 hr and induced an amoxicillin reduction of about 10% with 141.8 kJ/L accumulate

The main challenge is to protect the environment from future deterioration due to pollution and the lack of natural resources. Therefore, one of the most important things to pay attention to and get rid of its negative impact is solid waste. Solid waste is a double-edged sword according to the way it is dealt with, as neglecting it causes a serious environmental risk from water, air and soil pollution, while dealing with it in the right way makes it an important resource in preserving the environment. Accordingly, the proper management of solid waste and its reuse or recycling is the most important factor. Therefore, attention has been drawn to the use of solid waste in different ways, and the most common way is to use it as an alternative