The First World War (1914-1918) was one of the most atrocious events in human history in which millions of people were killed and injured. Young men were widely recruited through a very strong persuasive propaganda, which portrayed the war as an opportunity for young men to defend their country and raise its banner high in the battlefields, prove their bravery and heroism, enjoy the adventure of action and taste the delight of battles. Military parades were usually held in the streets of towns where crowds, including young beautiful girls, stood along, hailing the new recruits who felt high pride in their uniform amidst the cheering applause of the happy audience. Newspapers and magazines used to publish so many stories of heroism about brave soldiers who fought the enemy single-handed and achieved great victories with photographs of some posing soldiers. Posters were hung everywhere in the towns and cities encouraging young men to join the war, and many poets at home wrote on the war, its just cause and the bravery of fighters. But once these men arrived at the battlefields and lived in the trenches that they opened their eyes to the truth of war and its sufferings and miseries. Of these disillusioned men were Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.
We describe the synthesis and characterization of a novel 2D-MnOx material using a combination of HR-TEM, XAS, XRD, and reactivity measurements. The ease with which the 2D material can be made and the conditions under which it can be made implies that water oxidation catalysts previously described as “birnessite-like” (3D) may be better thought of as 2D materials with very limited layer stacking. The distinction between the materials as being “birnessite-like” and “2D” is important because it impacts on our understanding of the function of these materials in the environment and as catalysts. The 2D-MnOx material is noted to be a substantially stronger chemical oxidant than previously noted for other birnessite-like manganese oxi
... Show MoreThis assay rapidly detects chlorpromazine hydrochloride using its ability to reduce gold ions to form nanoparticles. Its low cost, resilience to interferences and short analysis time could facilitate environmental monitoring and biomedical analysis.
This assay rapidly detects chlorpromazine hydrochloride using its ability to reduce gold ions to form nanoparticles. Its low cost, resilience to interferences and short analysis time could facilitate environmental monitoring and biomedical analysis.
This study investigated the bioethanol production from green algae Chlorella vulgaris depending on its carbohydrate-enriched biomass. Four different phosphorous concentrations were employed to stimulate bioethanol production from Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of various phosphorous values on Chlorella vulgaris growth rate as well as primary product (carbohydrate) were evaluated. High performance liquid chromatography was utilized in this work. The stationary phase was identified as day 14, 12, 10 and 6 in treatments 6, 4, 2 and g/L, respectively. The findings suggest that the treatment without phosphorous addition had the highest record of carbohydrate content (22.64% dry weight) as well as the highest bioethanol yield (20.66% dry weight).
... Show MoreTwo simple methods for the determination of eugenol were developed. The first depends on the oxidative coupling of eugenol with p-amino-N,N-dimethylaniline (PADA) in the presence of K3[Fe(CN)6]. A linear regression calibration plot for eugenol was constructed at 600 nm, within a concentration range of 0.25-2.50 μg.mL–1 and a correlation coefficient (r) value of 0.9988. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) were 0.086 and 0.284 μg.mL–1, respectively. The second method is based on the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of the derivatized oxidative coupling product of eugenol with PADA. Under the optimized extraction procedure, the extracted colored product was determined spectrophotometrically at 618 nm. A l
... Show MoreImproving 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
... Show MoreVisceral leishmaniosis is one of the most fatal old-world neglected disease with estimated 90 thousand worldwide cases emerge each year. In Iraq, the cutaneous and visceral form are endemic but available chemotherapies are either toxic with diverse side effects, expensive available drugs or parasite …
Leishmaniosis is a tropical neglected parasitic disease that is endemic in many countries, including Middle East, with no existing effective vaccines. The bite of female sand-fly transmits the causative agent, Leishmania spp., to humans. High toxicity, resistance and treatment failure of the available chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniosis demands the investigation of new anti-leishmanial compounds. Lupeol is a form of triterpene isolated from several medicinal plants and possesses an antimicrobial property. In this study, cytotoxic effect of lupeol was screened against the mammalian amastigotes form and insect promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, following three cycles of incubation at different concentrations by MTT assay. Resul
... Show MoreSolar energy is the most abundant renewable energy source. This energy can be converted directly into electricity using solar panels. The fixed tilt solar panels are the most practical and the most widely installed throughout the world. Optimum tilt angle calculation has the advantage that it does not use expensive solar trackers. This research calculates the seasonal optimum tilt angle of solar panels for 17 cities in Iraq and 83 cities in 83 countries distributed around the world. Solar Panel Angle Calculator program was used in calculating the optimum tilt angles from vertical. The optimum tilt angle varies between 6° and 112° throughout the year. This angle for winter, spring/ autumn and summer seasons are found to be between
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