WORKPLACE FUN AND CREATIVE PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES

Purpose: Individuals spend a big chunk of their day at work and out of many intangibles, fun perks will be a good persuader for superior employee performance. Therefore, it’s important and even essential to have a culture that stems from the energy to set the tone of creative performance that doesn’t always cost much. Considering this present study examined the contribution of Fun in improving the creative performance of employees in the private banking sector. Methodology: In order to revalidate it with a sample of 120 respondents, we tested fun at work by coworker socializing, celebration at work, personal freedom, and global fun and found it significantly related to improving the creative performance of employees. The developed model was tested through regression and correlation. Findings: The results showed that three of the hypotheses were accepted whilst, one hypothesis was rejected. Conclusion: Hence, it can be concluded that to generate productive results and creative performance organizations should focus on the techniques to engage people. These simple strategies with low cost can benefit the banks in long run. &nbsp

Identification and thermochemical analysis of high-lignin feedstocks for biofuel and biochemical production

Background - Lignin is a highly abundant biopolymer synthesized by plants as a complex component of plant secondary cell walls. Efforts to utilize lignin-based bioproducts are needed. Results - Herein we identify and characterize the composition and pyrolytic deconstruction characteristics of high-lignin feedstocks. Feedstocks displaying the highest levels of lignin were identified as drupe endocarp biomass arising as agricultural waste from horticultural crops. By performing pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we characterized lignin-derived deconstruction products from endocarp biomass and compared these with switchgrass. By comparing individual pyrolytic products, we document higher amounts of acetic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-propanone, acetone and furfural in switchgrass compared to endocarp tissue, which is consistent with high holocellulose relative to lignin. By contrast, greater yields of lignin-based pyrolytic products such as phenol, 2-methoxyphenol, 2-methylphenol, 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol and 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol arising from drupe endocarp tissue are documented. Conclusions - Differences in product yield, thermal decomposition rates and molecular species distribution among the feedstocks illustrate the potential of high-lignin endocarp feedstocks to generate valuable chemicals by thermochemical deconstruction

Role of C - Reactive Protein as an Inflammatory Marker in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Case – Control Study in Erbil- Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Background and aim: Inflammation has been long regarded as a key contributor to atherosclerosis. Recent decades have provided extensive and mounting evidence concerning the pivotal interplay between inflammation and CAD, reinforcing the concept of inflammation not only as a risk marker but also as a risk factor for the development and progression of atherosclerotic disease. Methods: This was a case control study that has been enrolled among 404 patients, divided into two different groups (case-CAD patients and control group-Patients with Normal Coronary Angiography) that presented to Catheterization unit of Surgical Specialty Hospital- Cardiac Center/ Erbil City-Iraq from 1 Sept 2021 to 1 Jan 2022. Results: A total of 404 patients of case and control group was included from both genders, the mean age was 55.9 ±10.6, ranging from 30 to 77 years of age, based on their coronary angiographic profile 57.4% of them were Coronary Artery Disease cases and 42.6% were controls. (58.4%) of the study population were males and (41.6%) were females. The mean of CRP level amongst cases were higher (6.2 ± 10) than the controls (3.5 ± 4.7), and this was significant with a P = 0.022. In our study we found that Highly Sensitive-CRP was high amongst Case Group (Patients with CAD) by 70% while comparing to only 30% of Control group who had High CRP levels. And this was statistically significant with a P value of 0.003. Conclusion: The level of CRP was higher among patients with Coronary Artery Disease, than those with Normal Coronary Angiography. The level was higher among.</jats:p

Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences

Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated

Knowledge Management in E-Learning Environment in the Light of the Latest Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Institutions: (A Scientific Review and Digital Indications)

What the current era witnessing is a huge knowledge explosion, a broad technological revolution and tremendous developments in various fields. As we can see clearly, the including of the fields of Knowledge Management, Artificial Intelligence and E-Learning have become a great concern for educational institutions and business organizations. Whereas artificial intelligence technology is considered one of the most important of these developments. It has added a new dimension to computers, and given them a role and activities that were not available before. The field of education today is also witnessing a remarkable and rapid development in educational technology, which resulted from the multiplicity of educational programs that may contribute to facilitating the educational process through Artificial Intelligence Applications. This study aims to focus on Higher Education Institutions as a modern cognitive vision by recognizing the historical development of Knowledge Management and Artificial Intelligence Applications in the E-Learning environment by conducting a scientific review of intellectual production to shed light on how Knowledge Management and Artificial Intelligence Applications have evolved in E-Learning environment. This study includes lots of Arabic and other foreign studies that published during the time 2014 till 2020 in the field of Knowledge Management and Artificial Intelligence Applications in E-Learning Environment. The results that the study find in the very beginning of the emergence of the term and the concepts associated with them, as the research and theoretical interests dealt with have a great impact on this genre. Therefore, the study finds that the subject matter and how it has developed the research trends in the field of Knowledge Management and Applications of Artificial Intelligence and E-Learning from 1993 up till 2020 were all of great interest. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers, relied on the method of analytical study using documents in order to examine all the documents, all the previous studies and sources that dealt with Knowledge Management in E-Learning Environment in the light of Artificial Intelligence Applications. That was in order to analyze them and reach a set of results and recommendations that help extract the components of the subject of Knowledge Management in E-Learning Environment in Higher Education Institutions. This study presents a number of recommendations, including the need to conduct further studies that clarify the importance of applying Knowledge Management practices in the E-Learning Environment in light of the developments of Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Institutions as well

Activity Ethanolic and Methanolic Extracts of Arthrospira Platensis on Pathogenicity of Staphylococcus Aureu Sand Streptococcus Mutans

This study is found out the bioactive compounds in Arthrospira platensis alga that is obtained from the Environmental Research Center\ University of Technology. The extraction process is done with ethanol 99% and methanol 99% as solvents. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans are obtained from Al-Ameen Center for research and &nbsp;&nbsp;advanced biotechnology in the Holy City of Najaf from urine. which is gram-negative To evaluate the antibacterial activity are used four concentrations (0.5, 1.5, 3, 15) mg\ml for each extract with three replicates by agar well diffusion method. As a result, all concentrations make bacterial inhibition zone and affected more by increasing the extract concentration and highest inhibition rate is for ethanolic extract with an (15.08 ±2.38mm) while the methanolic extract with an average (14.28±2.53mm) And appeared &nbsp;cultivated on Congo Red Agar medium is able to change the medium color from pink or red to black, indicating their ability to form biofilms, and the ethanolic extract had an anti-biofilm effect

Activity Ethanolic and Methanolic Extracts of Arthrospira Platensis on Pathogenicity of Staphylococcus Aureu Sand Streptococcus Mutans

This study is found out the bioactive compounds in Arthrospira platensis alga that is obtained from the Environmental Research Center\ University of Technology. The extraction process is done with ethanol 99% and methanol 99% as solvents. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans are obtained from Al-Ameen Center for research and &nbsp;&nbsp;advanced biotechnology in the Holy City of Najaf from urine. which is gram-negative To evaluate the antibacterial activity are used four concentrations (0.5, 1.5, 3, 15) mg\ml for each extract with three replicates by agar well diffusion method. As a result, all concentrations make bacterial inhibition zone and affected more by increasing the extract concentration and highest inhibition rate is for ethanolic extract with an (15.08 ±2.38mm) while the methanolic extract with an average (14.28±2.53mm) And appeared &nbsp;cultivated on Congo Red Agar medium is able to change the medium color from pink or red to black, indicating their ability to form biofilms, and the ethanolic extract had an anti-biofilm effect