Search results

This study aims to focus on the preparation and characterization of the silver nanowire (AgNWs), as well as their application as antimicrobial and antivirus activities either with incorporation on the waterborne coating formulation or on their own.

Prepared AgNWs are characterized by different analytical instruments, such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction spectrometer. All the paint formulation's physical and mechanical qualities were tested using American Society for Testing and Materials, a worldwide standard test procedure. The biological activities of the prepared AgNWs and the waterborne coating based on AgNWs were investigated. And, their effects on pathogenic bacteria, antioxidants, antiviral activity and cytotoxicity were also investigated.

The obtained results of the physical and mechanical characteristics of the paint formulation demonstrated the formulations' greatest performance, as well as giving good scrub resistance and film durability. In the antimicrobial activity, the paint did not have any activity against bacterial pathogen, whereas the AgNWs and AgNWs with paint have similar activity against bacterial pathogen with inhibition zone range from 10 to 14 mm. The development of antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of the paint incorporated with AgNWs were also observed. The cytopathic effects of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were reduced in all three investigated modes of action when compared to the positive control group (HSV-1-infected cells), suggesting that these compounds have promising antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses, including DNA and RNA viruses.

The new waterborne coating based on nanoparticles has the potential to be promising in the manufacturing and development of paints, allowing them to function to prevent the spread of microbial infection, which is exactly what the world requires at this time.

This paper aims to present a numerical investigation for two-dimensional fractional Helmholtz equation using the Aboodh integral homotopy perturbation transform scheme (AIHPTS).

The proposed scheme combines the Aboodh integral transform and the homotopy perturbation scheme (HPS). This strategy is based on an updated form of Taylor’s series that yields a convergent series solution. This study analyzes the fractional derivatives in the context of Caputo.

This study illustrates two numerical examples and calculates their approximate results using AIHPTS. The derived findings are also presented in tabular form and graphical representations.

In addition, He’s polynomials are calculated using HPS, so the minimal computational outcome is a defining feature of this method and gives a competitive advantage over other series solution techniques.

Numerical data and graphical illustrations for different fractional order levels confirm the proposed method’s successful performance. The results show that the proposed approach is speedy and straightforward to execute on fractional-ordered models.

Wireless sensor networks are expected to be an integral part of any pervasive computing environment. This implies an ever‐increasing need for efficient energy and resource management of both the sensor nodes, as well as the overall sensor network, in order to meet the expected quality of data and service requirements. There have been numerous studies that have looked at the routing of data in sensor networks with the sole intention of reducing communication power consumption. However, there has been comparatively little prior art in the area of multi‐criteria based routing that exploit both the semantics of queries and the state of sensor nodes to improve network service longevity. In this paper, we look at routing in sensor networks from this perspective and propose an adaptive multi‐criteria routing protocol. Our algorithm offers automated reconfiguration of the routing tree as demanded by variations in the network state to meet application service requirements. Our experimental results show that our approach consistently outperforms, in terms of Network Lifetime and Coverage, the leading semantic‐based routing algorithm which reconfigures the routing tree at fixed periods.

This study aims to dye Silk and polyamide fabrics using synthetic dyes to give the fabrics fastness qualities, including washing, perspiration, light, rubbing and sublimation fastness, also to be effective against bacteria.

We used the coupling of diazonium salts of aniline derivatives with 2,6-dihydroxyisonicotintic acid to prepare substituted azo citrazinic acid. By using synthetic thickeners as a thickening agent, the screen printing process of these dyes is found to have printing characteristics.

The authors developed and produced a range of bioactive disperse dyes to be conjugated with citrazinic acid moieties and aromatic scaffold derivatives in the same construct via an azo linker to take advantage on the bioactive property of both motifs. The practicality, fastness and spectroscopic properties of the dyes were investigated. The dyes’ activity was evaluated initially in an antibacterial test using two Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria.

Silk and polyamide fabrics can be printed using disperse colors that have been shown to be effective against bacteria. Analysis was also done on the dyes’ color properties and fastness qualities, including washing, perspiration, light, rubbing and sublimation fastness.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the TQM readiness level of Yemeni Organizations. In addition, this study compares the level of readiness between the various Yemeni organizations.

Based on the TQM literature, related and relevant information had been gathered to develop an assessment tool used in this research. The main content of the assessment focused on statements related to the most common TQM principles. Data were collected by an assessment team and analyzed using quantitative methods to answer the related research questions.

The analysis results showed some of the TQM principles were being practiced by Yemeni organizations, to some extent, and with variant levels. The most widely practiced principle was customer focus, and the lowest principle practiced was continuous improvement. Also, the data showed the level of TQM readiness in Yemeni organizations was 58.93 percent. This level of TQM readiness indicates there is a potential for successful adoption of quality management standards and models in Yemeni organizations.

This study extends previous limited research in TQM readiness level measurement. It also adds to the body of TQM knowledge within the context of Yemen. In addition, this study contributes to the understanding of TQM implementation in an least developed countries (LDC) environment, where LDC organizational culture has its particularities on implementing TQM.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of TQM in an LDC country, which is Yemen. The paper points out which of the TQM principles are important to potential adoption of quality management standards and models. This study could further expand research, regarding the TQM in Yemen.

This study aims to examine the symmetric and asymmetric impact of external debt on inflation in Sudan from 1970 to 2020 within a multivariate framework by including money supply and the nominal effective exchange rate as additional inflation determinants.

The authors utilize an Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine the symmetric impact of external debt on inflation, while the asymmetric impact is examined using a Nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) model. The existence of a long-run relationship between inflation and external debt is tested using the bounds-testing approach to cointegration, and a vector error-correction model is estimated to determine the short parameters of equilibrium dynamics.

The linear ARDL model results show that external debt has no statistically significant impact on inflation in the long run. On the contrary, the results of the NARDL model show that positive and negative external debt shocks statistically affect inflation in the long run. The estimated long-run elasticity coefficients of the linear and nonlinear ARDL models reveal that the domestic money supply has a statistically significant positive impact on inflation. In contrast, the nominal effective exchange rate has a statistically significant negative impact on inflation.

The reliance on symmetric analysis may not be sufficient to uncover the existence of a linkage between external debt and inflation. Proper external debt management is crucial to control inflation rates in Sudan.

To date, no empirical study has assessed the external debt-inflation nexus and its potential asymmetry in Sudan, and the current study aims to fill this gap in the literature.

This paper aims to enlighten the importance of the risk management process which is considered as a major procedure to effectively handle the potential inherent risks in the construction industry. However, most traditional risk analysis techniques are based on theories that deal with each risk factor as an independent, which does not take into consideration the causal relationships between risk factors.

This study aspires to identify the overall risk of the administrative construction projects in Egypt and to recognize the most influencing risk factors through the project life cycle by using Bayesian belief networks (BBN). Through a review of the literature, 27 risk factors were identified and categorized as the most common risk factors in the construction industry. A structured questionnaire was performed to estimate the probability and severity of these risks. Through site visits and interviews with experts in the construction field, 200 valid questionnaires were collected. A risk analysis model was developed using BBNs, then the applicability of this model was verified using a case study in Egypt.

However, the outcome showed that critical risks that manipulate administrative construction projects in Egypt were corruption and bribery, contractor financial difficulties, force majeure, damage to the structure and defective material installation.

The proposed study presents the possibilities available to the project parties to obtain a better forecast of the project objectives, including the project duration, total project cost and the target quality by examining the causal relationships between project risks and project objectives.

This study aspires to identify the overall risk of the administrative construction projects in Egypt and to recognize the most influencing risk factors through the project life cycle by using BBNs.

In light of the inequality in access to farming land and the high prevalence of child malnutrition in Sudan, there is a lack of empirical research on the relationship between land ownership and child nutritional status. This study aims to examine the influence of agricultural landholding on the nutritional status of children under the age of five in rural Sudan.

The study utilizes data from Sudan’s 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), covering a sample of 10,753 rural children. The empirical analysis uses the two-stage least squares (2SLS) approach, adopting various estimation methods and model specifications for robustness check and comparison.

The results demonstrate that agricultural land has a positive and significant effect on reducing child malnutrition, signifying that children from families with agricultural land are less susceptible to malnutrition in Sudan. When examining the male and female sub-samples separately, the findings indicate a positive influence of land ownership on child malnutrition in the female sub-sample, while no significant impact is observed in the male sub-sample. This indicates a gender disparity in the effects of land ownership on child nutrition, with girls benefiting more from access to agricultural land compared to boys.

The study has several significant contributions. First, this is the sole study that examines the impact of agricultural land ownership on child malnutrition in Sudan. Second, considering the gender variations in nutritional status, investigating the influence of land ownership on child nutrition across genders addresses a significant gap in the current literature. Finally, the findings resulting from this study can contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, precisely focusing on SDG2 Goal 2: Zero hunger and SDG 10: Goal 10: Reduced inequalities.

This paper aims to investigate the prepared modified alkyd and poly(ester-amide) (PEA) resins as antimicrobial and insecticide binders for surface coating applications.

Salicylic diethanolamine and 4-(N, N-dimethylamino) benzylidene glutamic acid were prepared and used as new sources of polyol and dibasic acid for PEA and alkyd resins, then confirmed by: acid value, FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The coating performance of the resins was determined using measurements of physico-mechanical properties. The biological and insecticide activities of the prepared resins were investigated.

The tests carried out revealed that the modified PEA and alkyd enhanced both phyisco-mechanical and chemical properties in addition to the biological and insecticide activities. The results of this paper illustrate that the introduction of salicylic diethanolamine and 4-(N, N-dimethylamino) benzylidene glutamic acid within the resin structure improved the film performance and enhanced the antimicrobial activity performance of PEA and alkyd resins.

The modified alkyd and PEA organic resins can be used as biocidal binders when incorporated into paint formulations for multiple surface applications, especially those that are exposed to several organisms.

Modified alkyd and PEA resins based on newly synthesized modifiers have a significant potential to be promising in the production and development of antimicrobial and insecticide paints, allowing them to function to restrict the spread of insects and microbial infection.

An account is presented of part of an extensive empirical research project concerned with the role of the internal auditing function within enterprises. The main focus of this paper is upon the propensity for bias in the information flows of the budgetary control process. A model of the “traditional” budget process is modified successively to take account firstly of the presence of information bias and secondly of the function of internal auditing as a process of feedback and “counterbias”. Further discussions of the implications for the role of the internal auditor within this context together with some prognostic conclusions are then presented.