The taxonomy of Ficus L., 1753 species is confusing because of the intense morphological variability and the ambiguity of the taxa. This study handled 36 macro-morphological characteristics to clarify the taxonomic identity of the taxa. The study revealed that Ficus is represented in the Egyptian gardens with forty-one taxa; 33 species, 4 subspecies and 4 varieties, and classified into five subgenera: Ficus Corner, 1960; Terega Raf., 1838; Sycomorus Raf., 1838; Synoecia (Miq.) Miq., 1867, and Spherosuke Raf.,1838; out of them seven were misidentified. Amongst, four new Ficus taxa were recently introduced to Egypt namely: F. lingua subsp. lingua Warb. ex De Wild. & T. Durand, 1901; F. pumila L., 1753; F. rumphii Blume, 1825, and F. sur Forssk., 1775. The application of the multivariate analyses in plant systematics namely the two-way clustering analysis and the principal component analysis revealed that the qualitative characters as the presence or absence of lateral peduncular or ostiolar bracts and the leaf margin delimit the differentiation of subgenera within genus Ficus. Whereas the qualitative characters of the leaf as leaf arrangement, lamina shape, length, ratio of length to width, base, apex, number of lateral veins, stipules and figs either pedunculate or sessile, shape, and width are significantly separating the species within the different sections. Seven different identification keys of the studied taxa based on the examined characters are provided. In addition, a diagrammatic key for all the studied taxa is given.
The quote of a Canadian communication scientist (Marshall McLuhan) (“The world has become an electronic village”) has become an archaic information compared to the great and rapid development of communication in the last two decades of the 20th century and what will happen later in the 21st century, to the extent that the world is called, thanks to the internet, a “Small screen” and this fact is a sign of the great progress that has been made in this field. As for the other statement of the Canadian communication scientist mentioned before “the medium itself, is the message”, it has been renewed and developed in its meaning and it’s purpose. Each new technical development in the means of communication necessarily means a me
... Show MoreThis study has three parts, the first one is the synthesis of a novel Schiff bases by the condensation of guanine or 9-[{2-hydroxyethoxy}methyl]-9H-guanine with variety aldehydes to yield four different bases as follows: (E)-2-((4-nitrobenzylidene)amino)-1,9-dihydro-6H-purin-6-one (S1), (E)-2-((4-methoxybenzylidene)amino)-1,9-dihydro-6H-purin-6-one (S2), (E)-2-((2-hydroxybenzylidene) amino)-9-((2-hydroxy ethoxy)methyl)-1,9-dihydro-6H-purin-6-one (S3), and (E)-2-(((9-((2-hydroxy ethoxy)methyl)-6-oxo-6,9-dihydro-1H-purin-2-yl)imino)methyl)benzoic acid (S4). Then, spectroscopic analyses such as Elemental Analysis, UV/VIS, Mass spectra, FTIR, 1H,13C-NMR were made to recognize these bases. In the second part, the ability of synthesized bases to
... Show MoreA novel welded demountable shear connector for sustainable steel-concrete composite structures is proposed. The proposed connector consists of a grout-filled steel tube bolted to a compatible partially threaded stud, which is welded on a steel section. This connector allows for an easy deconstruction at the end of the service life of a building, promoting the reuse of both the concrete slabs and the steel sections. This paper presents the experimental evaluation of the structural behavior of the proposed connector using a horizontal pushout test arrangement. The effects of various parameters, including the tube thickness, the presence of grout infill, and the concrete slab compressive strength, were assessed. A nonlinear finite element mode
... Show MoreIn this research, experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of encased glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams under fire. The test specimens were divided into two peer groups to be tested under the effect of ambient and elevated temperatures. The first group was statically tested to investigate the monotonic behavior of the specimens. The second group was exposed to fire loading first and then statically tested to explore the residual behavior of the burned specimens. Adding shear connectors and web stiffeners to the GFRP beam was the main parameter in this investigation. Moreover, service loads were applied to the tested beams during the fire. Utilizing shear connectors, web stiffeners,
... Show MoreIn this research, experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of encased glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams under fire. The test specimens were divided into two peer groups to be tested under the effect of ambient and elevated temperatures. The first group was statically tested to investigate the monotonic behavior of the specimens. The second group was exposed to fire loading first and then statically tested to explore the residual behavior of the burned specimens. Adding shear connectors and web stiffeners to the GFRP beam was the main parameter in this investigation. Moreover, service loads were applied to the tested beams during the fire. Utilizing shear connectors, web stiffeners,
... Show MoreThe finite element method has been used in this paper to investigate the behavior of precast reinforced concrete dapped-ends beams (DEBs) numerically. A parametric investigation was performed on an experimental specimen tested by a previous researcher to show the effect of numerous parameters on the strength and behavior of RC dapped-end beams. Reinforcement details and steel arrangement, the influence of concrete compressive strength, the effect of inclined load, and the effect of support settlement on the strength of dapped-ends beams are examples of such parameters. The results revealed that the dapped-end reinforcement arrangement greatly affects the behavior of dapped end beam. The failure load decreases by 25% when
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This paper analyzes a piled-raft foundation on non-homogeneous soils with variable layer depth percentages. The present work aims to perform a three-dimensional finite element analysis of a piled-raft foundation subjected to vertical load using the PLAXIS 3D software. Parametric analysis was carried out to determine the effect of soil type and initial layer thickness. The parametric study showed that increasing the relative density from 30 % to 80 % of the upper sand layer and the thickness of the first layer has led to an increase in the ultimate load and a decrease in the settlement of piled raft foundations for the cases of sand over weak soil. In clay over weak soil, the ultimate load of the piled raft foundation w
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